Second Love
by JLGuyer
Summary: Keeping a promise is never easy, as Athrun Zala discovers as he struggles to keep the promise he made to his dying wife. To remarry. Athrun x Meyrin
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

Second Love

by EzrathenNehemiah

Athrun Zala stared out the window, his deep green eyes unable to grasp the simple sight of a freshly cut lawn that lay before them, for his mind was far too deep in thought to care about such simple things as to what he was looking at.

Today had been the day of his son, Jimmy's, third birthday. It was also the anniversary of his wife, Cagalli's, death.

His two eldest children, the twins Devlin and Kilmeny, had done their best to make this a happy occasion for Jimmy and had invited his Uncle Kira, Aunt Lacus and cousin Alice over to help celebrate. But even though he tried his hardest to bring a smile to his face it just would not come. It hadn't for the last three years.

Noticing this, his worried family had cornered him that day after Jimmy had had his birthday cake and opened his presents. Alice, Jimmy's cousin, had caught her mother's eye and after a quick signal had offered to take Jimmy outside to play with the new car his Daddy had made him. After they had left the 'discussion' began.

Kilmeny, his fifteen year old daughter, the image of her mother with her short blonde hair and blazing gold eyes, started the conversation.

" Dad, I think you should go see a grief counselor." She was as blunt as her mother, too.

Lacus, his sister-in-law, had nodded her agreement at this statement, adding, " Please do not be angry with us for mentioning this, Athrun. We are just worried about you. You haven't laughed or even truly smiled since Cagalli passed away."

Athrun looked into Lacus's deep blue eyes and even the sight of the concern in them could not calm the raising flood of anger that was filling his chest at the idea that they wanted him to try and forget Cagalli. He knew that was really what they wanted. If they didn't, they never would have mentioned such a thing.

Before this illogical anger had a chance to burst out of his lips though, his son piped in, also begging his father to at least consider the idea.

Now unsure of what to say to the three pleading faces in the room Athrun turned to the fifth occupant of the room--his best friend Kira, who strangely enough, had not said a word.

" Well, Kira," Athrun asked, his voice rough from trying to contain all the emotions that were now running through him. "Do you also think I should go to a grief counselor?"

Kira raised his head from where he had been resting it on the palms of his hands and his elbows had been laying on his knees. Looking straight at Athrun his brilliant purple eyes met Athrun's light green ones as he replied.

" No, I don't think you should go to a grief counselor. I think you should get remarried like Cagalli wanted you to."


	2. Chapter 2

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise plus other people whose names I do not know.

By EzrathenNehemiah

The relief that had first started to fill Athrun's body when the word no had escaped Kira's lips vanished like mist on a hot summer day. For a few minutes the whole room was dumbstruck.

Then like what happens to a dam after you stick dynamite in it the questions exploded

into the quiet. Kilmeny jumped to her feet and started screaming at the top of her lungs how horrid she thought her Uncle Kira was to even suggest such a thing and how of course her mother hadn't been serious when she had asked that.

To Athrun's amazement Devlin his son was doing the same so that the twins seemed to be a weird echo of each other. The sight of them in such a fury caused the old familiar pain to strike his heart once again. They were so much like Cagalli, while he desired to linger on that thought Athrun pushed it aside so that he not loose track of what was going on. He then tried to focus more intently on the conversation or yelling match whichever you preferred to call it, that was currently taking place in his living room.

Kira was busying trying to calm down his niece and nephew and Lacus was silently looking from one person to the next as if pondering who she should side with. Finally her gaze settled on him. Her eyes held the look that always seemed to be able to peer through whatever wall Athrun or Kira had managed to put up to protect themselves. She smiled at him suddenly a sweet smile that held a secret that he was not privy too.

Turning away from him Lacus cleared her throat, stood up and waving her arms above her head she shouted, " Enough!"

Kira, Kilmeny, and Devlin all turned to face her then with a quick glance at each other they all immediately sat down. Lacus then focused her attention on her husband.

" Now Kira darling why don't you tell us why you think Athrun should get remarried?"

Kira let out a sigh as the accusing faces of his two eldest niece and nephew peered at him. Worse yet, was the blank stare of his best friend Athrun, his eyes were dead just as they had been ever since Cagalli breathed her last on that hospital bed after one look at the child she had given her life to give birth too.

Now while Kira had at one point in time agreed with the rest of the family that Athrun should just go to a counselor or something of that nature and forget Cagalli's request, instead working to build happiness with his remaining family.

A certain picture along with a long forgotten memory changed all that though. When looking through his attic a couple weeks ago Kira had come across some pictures that had been taken at the end of the second war between the Plants and Earth. Most of them were of people he was even now friends with, but one of them was of two sisters that he hadn't thought of in years.

Yet as he sat looking at the cheery faced girls a conversation he once had with Athrun about the younger of the two came rushing back to him.

Athrun's eyes had been worried guilty even, when he had softly told his friend that he did have an affection for Meyrin Hawke. He had then begged him not to tell anyone least of all Cagalli or Lacus for fear they think he would not be faithful to Cagalli or that he loved her any less. He just wanted to tell him about these feelings to see what he thought he should do about them.

Kira after pushing aside the anger that he felt on behalf of his sister had assured him that he understood and that since Meyrin was leaving and more than likely they would never meet each other again that the feeling would quickly pass.

Athrun had looked very relieved and had thanked his friend for his silence and understanding on the subject.

But now, now Kira wondered if those feelings had been love could they perhaps blossom up again now that Cagalli was gone?

Author's notes. Yes, this is a Athrun and Meyrin story, they are my favorite new couple in the Gundam Seed fandom. I know that Cagalli and Athrun are more popular, but I would be honor if you would give this pairing and story a try. Thank you, and if you would like, please read and review.


	3. Chapter 3

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

The two men walked down the hallway neither of them saying a word Kira because he was to busy trying to figure out what to say and, Athrun because he was trying to get his mind in order for what would most likely be a heart rending, blood boiling conversation. Seeing the doorway come into sight Athrun speeded up a little and opened the heavy oak door holding it so that Kira could go in ahead of him.

Kira walked into Athrun's study once again struck by the sight of the many, many books Athrun owned. Lightly shaking his head he pushed aside his awe and walked over to one of the overstuffed leather chairs Athrun kept in the room, sinking into it, Kira's mind once again tripped away from the subject that had brought them into this room in the first place.

Instead it dragged up a memory of something that Cagalli had once said about Athrun's study, " Yes, Athrun's study the room he had made when he hit the phase of, "' I saw one to many movies about snobby universaties and just had to have the dean's library'."

A slight smile passed over his face at the remembrance but then it drifted away once again as Athrun settled across from him, his restless mind finally settling once more on the task at hand.

They stared at each other silently for a few more moments Kira desperately trying to find the words to start the conversation. To his relief and dread that problem was taken out of his hands.

Athrun blinked slowly and then opened his mouth and started the unwanted conversation about his love life.

" So Kira why did you bring up that request Cagalli made? Especially since we had agreed never to speak of it again." His voice dripped venom and his eyes were like green shards of ice.

Gulping hard Kira took a deep breath and then dove in.

----

Elsewhere on a Plant far away from Orb a similar conversation was taking place between two sisters. Except it was starting to turn into a sulking match, which admittedly the younger was a little better at.

Lunamaria Asuka stared down at her sister Meyrin Hawke her lips white from how hard she had them pressed together. Meyrin just glared back at her , her arms folded across her chest and her eyes half lidded.

Rolling her eyes in irritation Lunamaria let out a sigh as she thought back to the phone call that had started this whole mess.

It was a week ago Tuesday, she knew this because Tuesday was the day she cleaned all of the bathrooms in the house. And when the phone had begun ringing she had had half her body in the bathtub scrubbing it's sides. Hearing the phone she had risen to get the cordless she had put outside by the bathroom door in case anyone called. She didn't like dealing with the voice messages since half the time they were from her fifteen year old daughter's would be boyfriends.

After the last one which had a detailed description of what the slim ball who called himself Mitch would like to do to her and Shinn's precious daughter Mayu she was starting to lean towards Shinn's idea of having Meyrin look up where they live on the computer so the two of them could go over to the boys houses and gently inform them that their daughter is not allowed to date until she is sixteen, and gently by her and Shinn standards was only breaking one of their legs.

Rushing over to the phone before the machine picked it up Lunamaria, clicked it on and holding it up to her ear, said," Hello" in a winded voice,her cleaning having left her a little short of breath.

Hearing a man's voice answering her back, Lunamaria immediately went on alert if this was another one of those boys she was so going to let them have it. Even if it wasn't 'Mitch'.

But to her surprise as the man continued to speak he identified himself as Kira Yamato, and said that he was looking for her mother. Blinking softly Lunamaria stared at the phone she held in her hand for a few minutes wondering if the cleaner fumes had gotten to her brain. Shaking her head lightly she answered the soft spoken voice that kept saying, " Hello? Are you still there?"

"Oh, yes, yes, Kira I'm still here but why do you want to speak to my mother? For one she doesn't live here and for another Shinn and I have only heard from you once since our wedding seventeen years ago!"

Now his end of the phone was deadly silent. Then " Oh, is this Lunamaria? I'm sorry I thought I was speaking to your daughter Mayu. But this is perfect I was hoping that I would catch you at home. Is this by any chance a good time to talk? I know I haven't contacted you in years for which I apologize but I have something rather important to discuss with you if you are willing hear me out."

Lunamaria was about to laugh and ask him if this was a joke but it suddenly occurred to her that the last time she had heard from Kira was when Cagalli had died.

Cagalli had stayed in touch with the young couple even after their marriage and her own marriage to Athrun since when she and Lunamaria had met again after the war they had formed an instant friendship.

Thus when the doctor had told Cagalli there was a strong possibility that she would die giving birth to her third child she had requested that Kira be the one to phone her close friends and let them know instead of them having to read it in the newspaper or hear it from some disassociated news reporter. But she had said with a bright smile on her face the face that had become more and more pale as her pregnancy progressed, this was only a precautionary move she doubted it would happen.

Sadly it had.

The memory of the short phone call Kira had made, one that was mumbled from his struggle to hold back his tears put Lunamaria into panic.Questions leaped to her tongue came out in a frantic rush at Kira, " Who died or or who is sick? Why didn't you call us sooner? Is it Athrun? Or one of the children?"

Kira almost screamed over the phone trying to break through Lunamaria's frantic questions. " Stop Lunamaria! Stop! It's nothing that involves death or sickness! I just want to know if Meyrin is married or engaged!" By this time he was screaming into her ear just so he could be heard over her own worried screams.

This question made Lunamaria pause. " What?" was all she could say.

Author's notes. Thank you for reading my story and thank you: Sarah, knack, Jarr Jar, Blade and silvya for reviewing it was very kind of you.I hope you all enjoy these chapters as well.

Oh, I have not seen Gundam Seed Destiny so I am just going by what I have heard about the characters. So if I have anyone out of character I apologize.

Thank you again.

EzrathenNehemiah


	4. Chapter 4

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

After a few minutes of them both breathing in and out to calm down their now racing hearts, Kira and Lunamaria finally started the conversation Kira had called to have in the first place.

He began by explaining to Lunamaria what the situation was with Athrun and the fact that all of his close friends were very worried about him being seemingly unable to let go of Cagalli or at least unwilling to let go of her, after all of this. Kira eventually got back to his question about Meyrin.

Lunamaria shared his concern and even agreed with him that instead of a counselor Athrun should try and find love again, but when the conversation went back to Meyrin she then asked the question that Kira had been dreading.

" Why do you want to know about Meyrin's love life?"

Kira paused for a moment his conscience squirming under the thought of either lying or breaking Athrun's confidence neither of which he really wanted to do. It was the memory of Athrun's mournful face and joyless eyes that finally made him break down and tell Lunamaria the secret that Athrun had told him so long ago about Athrun's feelings for Meyrin.

After she heard that little bit of information everything about Meyrin's love life came pouring out including the fact that when she was sixteen Meyrin did have a crush on Athrun. A _very_ big crush.

Kira was so relived by this announcement that he let out a short laugh. Right before he had been able to work up enough nerve to call Lunamaria to see if his crazy idea had even a chance of working, he had been wracked with doubts about whether or not Meyrin actually had had any feelings or attraction for Athrun.The way she had hung around him back then had lead the entire crew to believe she did but actually nobody had ever known for sure.

The news that she had at one point in time had feelings for Athrun and the fact that Meyrin was still single put some true hope in Kira's heart that this plan might actually have a fighting chance.

Knowing that he had to have someone on his side that knew Meyrin, Kira proceed to tell Lunamaria what he wanted to try and accomplish between their mutual friends and or realtives then waited for her thoughts on it.

Lunamaria stared into space for a few seconds her mind absorbing the suggestion that Kira had just made.It was a good suggestion and after a few more moments of thought she asked Kira what he wanted her to do to help him set her little sis and his brother-in-law up on a date.

And what Kira had requested that she do had lead up to this moment the moment of two sisters staring at each other stubborn looks adoring both faces, neither one wanting to give an inch. Lunamaria because she desperatley wanted her sister to go and Meyrin because she would rather have the flu than go on another blind date.

Meyrin Hawke stared at her sister the anger she was feeling clearly shown on her face. Meyrin could not believe the nerve that Lunamaria had set her up on a blind date without even asking!

Yes, Meyrin knew her whole family thought that at the age of thirty four she should at least be married. After all Lunamaria had gotten married at nineteen to Shinn Askua and then had gotten pregnant with Mayu a mere two years later.

Thus to her parents eyes she had some catching up to do. It's not like she had never dated. She had she'd been engaged twice for crying out loud!

Of course that was not a topic to bring up around her family, they could understand why she dumped her second fiancé after all she had found him making out with his second cousin Dawn at their wedding rehearsal. That's enough to put a dent in any relationship.

But the first fiancé, well they didn't get why she left him at the altar at _all_. Meyrin kept telling them it's because she hadn't loved him enough but they just asked what she meant by enough.And when she tryed to explain to them what she meant, they just told her to grow up and stop looking for fairy tale love.

So you can see why Meyrin was a little steamed that her older sister who had for the most part left her alone about this part of her life was now jumping on the bandwagon with her parents.

Opening her mouth to once again give her a firm no, Meyrin looked into her sister's large blue eyes, they were pleading with her to do this, she wasn't sure but she thought she even saw tears.

Biting her lower lip Meyrin straightened her back in desperate attempt to not give in to her sister's puppy eyed look. She always had a hard time saying no to that look, but this time she had there was no other option! She refused to date another weird friend of the family or worse one of Shinn's coworkers.

To her extreme annoyance Meyrin could not stop herself from taking one last look at Lunamaria's face. Seeing the protruding lower lip sealed Meyrin's doom ( as it always did) and with a loud sigh Meyrin threw her hands up into the air and said," Where am I suppose to met him?"

With a happy squeal Lunamaria threw her arms around her sister then settling on the padded bench beside her, Lunamaria proceed to give Meyrin all the details about her up coming date.

Except the most important part. The name of the man she was going on the date with.


	5. Chapter 5

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. And thank you for reviewing: Athrun's Precious Rose, ritachi, MissKT, and iris.

Please review.

God bless you!

Athrun's tense face peered into the mirror as he nervously checked his tie again. His two best friends Kira and Lacus were sitting on his bed watching him as they had been for the last hour.

Turning to his wife Kira whispered under his breath, " How did you know he was going to be so frantic? He was perfectly calm on his wedding day."

" True but on the day he came to met me for the first time his mother told me that he changed his clothes four times before finally deciding to wear the suit he had put on first."

" Ah, that explains why he has tried on every tie he owns at least twice."

" Mmmhmm, but at least you were able to hide the one that said, " I obey the voices in my wife's head. I don't think that would have a made a very good impression."

" No, that is defiantly not the tie to wear on a date."

Lacus couldn't help but smiled the tie in question always had that affect on her. " I don't know Meyrin might have thought it was cute. She sort of struck me as the easy going type."

Kira quickly snapped his eyes from where they were focused on his wife back to his friend to see if he had heard Lacus's last comment. Seeing no reaction a sigh of relief escaped him. Turning to Lacus he put a finger to his lips and said, " Shh! Don't say her name, he might hear you."

Lacus rolled her eyes at him, " I still don't see why you don't just tell him that his date is with Meyrin Hawke. It would put him at ease to know that you are just setting him up with an old friend."

" I told you before I can't tell you exactly why, I just think it would be better if he didn't know.Now can we please drop this subject?"

Lacus gave her husband a suspicious look and then answered him, " Fine, but after Athrun gets back from his date and we are back home you _will_ tell me everything."

Seeing the fiery look in her eyes, Kira nodded knowing that if he didn't tell her everything she wanted to know he would be having a lonely night on the couch when they got back home from babysitting Jimmy for Athrun.

The twins had thrown a fit when Athrun had told them he was going on a date. They had then told him that if he was determined to go that he would have to find somebody else to baby sit Jimmy. They were not about to help him try and find another wife so he could replace their mother.

Athrun had merely sighed after this little display of ' maturity' resolving to have a long chat with his children sometime soon. At that moment though he had to fix his babysitter problem. Which was how Lacus and Kira came to be sitting on his bed whispering things, about him, he knew it was about him from the way they kept taking quick looks at him whenever they thought he wasn't paying attention.

Shaking his head at their gossipy ways. Athrun took one last look at himself in the floor length mirror, then turning to his friends he said, " How do I look?"

Howls of laughter was all that could be heard for a good five minutes until Lacus finally gasped out. " You might want to put a shirt on Athrun!"

Glancing down at himself Athrun finally realized that in all his worry about which tie to wear he had forgotten to put on his pale silk blue dress shirt.


	6. Chapter 6

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Also this tie is based off an actual t-shirt which I do not own.(I obey the voices in my wife's head. ) Thank you.

Chapter six.

" I don't have anything to wear!" Meyrin wailed to her empty apartment two days before the dreaded blind date. She was selecting her clothes two days before the date instead of flying into a blind panic on the night of as she usually did on her dates, because she had to fly to Orb to have dinner with this guy.

She still did not understand how Lunamaria thought it would be a good idea to set her up with a man who did not even live on the same Planet as she did. Well okay technically the Plants aren't Planets but her point was still valid what her point was Meyrin wasn't sure of right at that moment she was to busy staring at the entire contents of her closet laying out on her bed and realizing that the only thing she thought looked nice was her new light blue nightgown.

And she sure couldn't wear that to her date!

Flopping cross legged onto the floor in front of her bed Meyrin stared at her cell phone considering calling up Lunamaria and asking her what she should wear. Of course the last time she had done that Lunamaria had cheerfully told her that since Meyrin was a fashion designer why didn't she just make herself something to wear?

While that was an option, the thought of thinking up a design drawing, picking out the fabric and color, then cutting the fabric and sewing the dress was just a little to exhausting for her to face today.

Especially after the day she had had.

It had been going good, well as good as could be expected since she worked with super models and all of them had a various range of needs some of which were so ludicrous to her she wonder how they could ask for it with a straight face.But then at the end of the day Cynthia one of the models who was trying to learn the business side of the job so she could open up a clothing store when she retired, had asked her if she could come over to Meyrin's house on the weekend and go over some of the finer details of the business.

When she had told her no, she couldn't since she would be out of town on a date, all heck had broken loose.

Why all heck broke loose was because of the simple fact that just the week before one of the male models,a nice young man by the name of Saul had asked her out on a date. It's seems most of her co-workers had been hoping she would say yes.

So when she had politely turned him down using the fact that she didn't have time to date right now since the fall catalog was taking up all of her free time.( Instead of telling him the truth that she didn't date guys she worked with, she had tried telling the truth once, the results hadn't been pleasant .)The whole group had felt the need to tell that she was an idiot after finding out that she had turned him down.

Of course today she had to prove them right by opening her mouth about her upcoming blind date.

Once they had heard about this little devolopment in her life, they had all ganged up on her ranting about how Saul was better than any guy her sister could have set her up with and that if she had just said yes to him she would of had an excuse and gotten out of the blind date.

Meyrin had acknowledge that they had a point just to keep the peace, though the whole time she was doing so her mind was giving a silent rant about how it wasn't ethical to date someone you work with! Not that any of them cared about that particular ethic, which was more than obvious by how many male models Meyrin had to fire because one of her more famous female models had dated him then broken up with him.

Just the memory of all this was wearing her out even more, but then just as she was considering actually wearing the blue night gown the memory of what she and her date were suppose to bring with them so they could recognize each other, a single white tulip, brought to mind her light yellow lawn dress.

Diving into the pile of clothes on her bed she found the dress and with a satisfied smile believed herself to be ready for her date.

She kept the confidence that belief gave her with her all the way into the restaurant on the night of her date, and it stayed with her when she ordered a glass of lemonade while she waited for her date to show up. It was only when her eye caught sight of another white tulip that that confidence was shaken, and then as her eyes drifted to the face of the man she was going to be having dinner with that confidence was shattered.

For there standing in the foyer of the restaurant was none other than the very first man she had ever loved and never truly gotten over.

Athrun Zala.

Gritting her teeth as he turned to face the table she was sitting at Meyrin whispered under her breath. " Lunamaria I am going to kill you!"

Author notes: Thank you for reading thus far, and thank you to ritachi, Riley Mayori, Genny-chan, ShinigamiZero16, Auron Kenobi, D.Torres for reviewing.

Please review and if anyone has any ideas for how the date should go please send my way. Thank you very much. God bless you!

EzrathenNehemiah


	7. Chapter 7

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Athrun stared at the blinking red street light his mind jumping from one thing to another until finally going back to the conversation that had lead him to be in the car this rainy evening going to a blind date he had never wanted to have.

" Kira I must ask you again, why did you bring up that promise Cagalli made me make? You know she was just saying that to make sure I didn't feel guilty if I did move on. Not that I need that reassurance since I have no desire to ' move on'." Athrun gave Kira a stern look as he said this, Kira just smiled gently back at him, he had known Athrun far to long to be affected by a look that mild.

" Athrun that may be what you think she meant and you may very well be right but I think she meant exactly what she said, I think she wanted you to remarry."

Athrun's glare took on a furious over tone as he bit out his next words, " Well she had no right to ask that of me!"

Kira's eyes widen with shock at this statement and then filled with sorrow over the bitterness and anger that coated Athrun's words. Turning his face away Kira started to say, " You're right Athrun, lets just drop..." But before he could get the whole statement out Athrun interrupted him.

" Where am I suppose to meet the woman you set me up with?"

Kira's eyes popped open in a wide eyed deer in head lights type of look and he started to stammer, " I.. I .. didn't.."

Athrun just gave him a knowing look, and said, " I know you Kira you wouldn't have brought this up if you hadn't already set me up with someone. Now I will go on this date for Cagalli's sake but if I don't like this woman you must never mention dating to me again and you have to keep everyone else off my back about seeing a counselor. Is that clear?"

Kira's face lit up with a happy smile and throwing his arms around Athrun in a joyous hug he said, " Thank you, Athrun. I know Cagalli would have been pleased. And I promise if you hate the girl no more talk about dating. Plus I will see what I can do about everyone else hounding you about a counselor."

Athrun had let out a sigh of relief at that statement and had gently patted Kira on the back hoping that his emotional best friend would let him go soon. His back was starting to ache from how hard Kira was squeezing him.

While Athrun did not regret the decision to go on the date, after all it was the only thing he could do to make it right with himself for speaking so harshly against his beloved Cagalli he couldn't help but be curious as to why Kira had given in so easily about this date being the only one. Somehow this lack of prodding to have more than one date was making him slightly nervous.It was almost like Kira was dead certain that he would like the woman. But how could that be? They had no shared acquaintances when it came to single women, so who could he have set him up with?

He was still pondering on this when he walked in to the restaurant and paused in the lobby to take a look around. He had put the white tulip he and his date were using to recognize each other by in a button hole on his coat. As he looked around the dining room for the matching one his eye finally caught sight of it and the woman sitting behind it. He couldn't see her face at first since she had it bowed over her plate but he quickly noticed that she had a nice form and long red hair.

Wait a minute, Athrun thought to himself, red hair? A feeling of pure dread started creeping up his spine and it only became worse when she lifted her head.

His date was Meyrin Hawke, the young woman he had confessed to Kira that he had had feelings for at one point in time.

As he stood there trapped under her purple-gray gaze only one thought passed through his mind. " Kira, what have you done?"

Author's notes: First off thank you to D.Torres and Genny-chan for reminding me that I had to do Athrun's point of view. I had almost forgotten about it. I am hoping to have the date chapter out at least by early next week.

Thank you again for reading and thank you for reviewing: D. Torres, ritachi, Firedude328, and Genny-chan.

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah


	8. Chapter 8

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Meyrin could feel a flush working it's way up her neck as Athrun Zala came towards her.Just as it was about to reach her cheeks, he was standing before her and looking down at her with his glass green eyes. Those eyes caused the blood that was coming up her body to go back down to her feet. Now feeling a little faint Meyrin could only blinked stupidly up at Athrun as he introduced himself.

At first she thought she might just pass out in a dead faint at his feet. But then what he was saying came through the fog that was surrounding her brain and entered her gray mass and what the formal introduction meant also pierce her mind.' He doesn't remember me!' This revelation hurt so much that piling it up along with all the other stresses and pain she had endured for the last few weeks caused a slight melt down.At least that was the only explanation that Meyrin could ever find to appease her own sense of shame over what she did next.

Hurt filled her chest with a burning ache so painful that she could no longer handle holding it in.So she decided to find an outlet for this burning ache in her chest, sadly that outlet was her mouth.Thus out of her mouth came a high pitched wail that sounded something like, " You don't remember me?"

That wail went to every part of the dining room and every face in that dining room quickly spun towards them. Meyrin then watched in amazement as the normally collected Athrun Zala flew into a small panic trying to calm her down.

" No, no Meyrin I didn't mean it like that! I just wanted to formally introduce myself again in case you had forgotten me that's all."

The sight of Athrun's panicked face as he knelt before her grasping her hands and trying to calm her by rubbing his fingers over the backs of her knuckles, caused a giggle to start working it's way up her throat and before she could stop she burst out laughing right in his face.

He just looked more worried at this and Meyrin knew he thought she had gone into hysterics. Taking a deep shaky breath Meyrin pulled her hands from his, though a small part of her brain registered that his hands had felt really, really good wrapped around hers. The only other time she had ever felt so safe was when he had took her hand and lead her to the Gouf when they were deserting Zaft.

While he had allowed her to take her hands back, his kind care had already done it's work and Meyrin was once again back in control of her emotions.

Smiling brightly at him, she said, " I'm so sorry Athrun, of course you were just seeing if I remember you. And wasn't it nice of me to let you and," here she glanced about the room at the still staring patrons of the restaurant, " the rest of the room know that I do remember you?"

Gazing into her face a moment longer to see if she was truly all right, Athrun got to his feet and with a kind smile said, " Yes, you did that very efficiently, but if you don't mind I would like to catch up with you without an audience. How about we skip dinner and take a walk instead?"

Relieved that he wasn't going to cancel the completely, as she assumed he would after her fit. Meyrin jumped up out of her chair and said, " Sure that sounds great! Just let me grab my coat and I'll be already. Oh and I have to pay for my lemonade."

Turning around to grab her jacket she was embarrassed to find that Athrun had already picked it up and had left some money on the table for her drink. Looking back at him she saw that he was holding out her jacket for her to slip into. Smiling shyly she slipped into the coat and taking his arm they began walking out of the restaurant.

'Hmm, Meyrin thought to herself, it's been a good long time since I have been on a date where a guy would hold my coat for me. Much less pay for my drink. Ah, well this might not be when or how I wanted it but I am on a date with Athrun, so I might as well enjoy it."

Giggling softly to herself Meyrin looked up at Athrun and was about to make a comment, when he open the door to leave the restaurant and a wave of cold wind and rain hit them.Shaking her head and wiping her face off she look up at Athrun and asked, " Do you think we should go back in?"

Athrun looked up at the dark sky and then looked down at her his clearly showing his uncertainty. " I don't know. If we go back in any chance of a normal conversation will be gone since everyone will be listening to see what happens next. But if we take a walk even with a umbrella your dress could get ruined."

Blinking up at him Meyrin asked in amazement, " That's all you are worried about? Well goodness if that is all, let's go find an umbrella and have our walk. This dress is easily replaceable."

Athrun shot a look towards her and said, " Are you sure you don't mind going for a walk in the rain?"

Meyrin replied, " Yep, I am positive. A walk in the rain every once in a while is good for you, reminds you why you stay indoors every other time it rains."

Athrun stared at her for a second as if trying to process what she had just said and then with a small grin said," I'm going to make a quick run to my car for my umbrella, so you just wait here for me okay?"

Meyrin acknowledged this with a quick nod of her head and Athrun dashed off to his car keeping one arm above his head to try and keep a little bit of the rain out of his face.

Athrun thought over the latest development of his night as he rummaged around his car for his umbrella.

At first his panic over not knowing what Kira had told Meyrin to get her to go on this date had made him feel a little paralyzed when it came to talking. But oddly enough Meyrin's outburst had done away with any feelings of reservation or nervousness.

He had been to worried that he was going to have to call a doctor and have the give her a sedative to calm her down.

But then she had just gone back to her normal chipper self in less than five minutes flat. Of course she had always been able to do that. Even when her own comrades had tried to kill her for treason she had never let it get her down for to long.

That had actually been one of the traits he had so admired in her.

And while the conversation they had just had was mostly pointless and in some way vaguely silly he had not felt so relaxed in years.

As his hand grasped the elusive umbrella Athrun smiled to himself. He didn't know how she had done it but Meyrin had actually made him glad that he had come on this date.

Popping his head out of the car he turned to go back to where Meyrin was waiting under the canopy in the restaurant. Looking at her bright smiling face still full of the joy of life Athrun couldn't help but be a little excited to find out what would happen next on the very odd blind date.

Author's notes: Thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing; D. Torres, Genny-chan and ritachi. ritachi sorry for the cliffhangers I just can't seem to stop. Sorry!

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah


	9. Chapter 9

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Lunamaria glanced up at the clock in her living room it was probably the fortieth or fiftieth time she had looked at it in the last hour.

Why she was looking at the clock she didn't know, it wasn't like the clock could tell her what she wanted to know but still she looked, because for some odd reason seeing the time tick by and the knowledge that her sister had still not called her were the only things that calmed her fear that she had done the wrong thing when she helped Kira set Meyrin and Athrun up on a date.

It was a good thing she had these little things to calm her, after all when Shinn had finally confronted her two days ago as to why she and Meyrin had not spoken, ( except for one phone call just a few days ago), they had had a huge fight and now they were hardly speaking to each other.

Lunamaria couldn't understand why Shinn had been so angry that she had set Meyrin up on the date. Even after she had gone over the conversation in her mind again and again the only objections she could remember him having was that it was a betrayal of the trust Meyrin had put in them and that he didn't want any woman he actually liked dating Athrun.

What he had against Athrun she didn't know, after all most of the time he seemed to like and respect Athrun but every so often just like back when they had all first met, Shinn appeared to hate Athrun for all intents and purposes.

Letting out a huff Lunamaria walked over to the couch and flicked on the TV. Flipping through the channels, she paused when the sight of the old black and white film caught her eye.Most people her age couldn't stand these ancient films and for a good long time she hadn't liked them either.

But when she was twenty and Shinn was nineteen and they had finally started seriously dating, he had often begged her to watch one with him on various occasions, and eventually he had won her over to how good a black and white film could be.

And since at that very moment Lunamaria was desperately missing the closeness she and Shinn usually shared she left it on that channel.

As the movie continued Lunamaria became absorbed enough that she forgot to look at the clock though the romantic drama was making her longing for her husband's attention even stronger. Just as the tears were beginning to gather in her and she was about to run up the stairs to Shinn's study,the place he had been brooding in for the past two days, and beg his forgiveness two strong hands grasped her shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze.

Snapping her head upwards Lunamaria was happily surprised to see her husband's face looming above her with an apologetic look on his face.

Shinn leaned down and placed a kiss on his wife's forehead moving around the couch he sat down next to Lunamaria and wrapping his arms around her waist he pressed his forehead against her's and looking into her eyes he said, " I've been a stubborn fool. Forgive me?"

Lunamaria's face lit up with true happiness and relief at these words and she joyfully replied, " Of course I forgive you, but..."

At this Shinn's lips drew downwards in a worried frown and drawing her closer he said, " But?"

Lunamaria dropped her eyes from his gaze for a brief moment then raising her eyes back up to meet his once again she said," But, could you please tell me why you were so against Meyrin going on a date with Athrun?"

Shinn let out a sigh and leaning back so he could look at the whole of her face more easily he asked, " Do you really want to get into this? Couldn't we just drop the subject and have nothing more to do with this blind date other than being supportive of Meyrin in whatever she decides to do after this date?"

Lunamaria narrowed her eyes at this comment and said a little sharply, " No."

Shinn let out a groan and dropping his head onto the back of the couch he said, " All right, all right. I will tell you what you want to know, but you have to promise me you will not snap my head off or stop speaking to me again. I don't know about you but these last two days have been horrible for me so I would really rather not get into another spat with you about this."

" So do you promise me that no matter what I say you will try and see it from my point of view?"

This little speech along with the worried look on Shinn's face caused the annoyance Lunamaria had felt building up in her when Shinn had seemed reluctant to answer her question to drift away leaving understanding in it's place.

Resting her head on his shoulder, she smiled reassuringly at him and said, " I hated the silence that was between us as much as you did, so you have my word that I will not get angry at you no matter what reasons you give me. Ok?"

Shinn let out a relieved breath at this statement and then explained what his problems with Meyrin's blind date were. " First off my problem with this date does not lye solely with Athrun. One of my main issues with this date was the fact that for years you have left Meyrin alone about dating and I know she appreciated that, so you ambushing her with this date had to have felt like a betrayal to her. And I do not want to see you two become like some sibling I've seen who only speak to each other at weddings and funerals."

Lunamaria broke in at this saying," I hadn't really thought about it like that, I was just so worried about Athrun and it had been ages since Meyrin had gone on a date. So I thought this was a great solution to both problems. But now that you have brought that concern to my attention I promise I will talk to and if necessary apologize to Meyrin."

Shinn's eyes glowed with pride as Lunamaria said this and giving her another squeeze he said, " That's all I could ask of you, but that's not the only reason I disapproved of this date. And I can tell by the look on your face that you are still curious about the other reason."

She blushed a little at this but eagerly motioned for him to continue anyways. Laughing softly, he continued speaking, " My other reason is much more simple, unlike you and Kira, I don't believe that Athrun will let go of Cagalli. And if he won't let go of her the only thing that is going to happen in this in this little experiment that you and Kira cooked up is that Athrun will continue living the same way he has since his wife died. And Meyrin will end up with a broken heart that she might never recover from."

After Shinn finished stating his second reason, Lunamaria opened her mouth preparing to defend her and Kira's reasoning even though his reasons had planted a seed of worry in her heart. But just as she was about to do this the phone rang, quickly turning to the phone that they always left by the couch, Lunamaria took a quick glance at the phone to see if the time might give her a clue as to who was calling.

To her amazement two hours had past since the last time she had looked at the clock, grasping the phone even as she pondered how the time had flown she clicked it on and said, " Hello, Asuka residence?"

Meyrin's voice came across the line in an excited rush, " Lunamaria, do you think you could get me out of dinner with the folks this Saturday? Athrun invited me to a picnic with his family. Please do this for me Lunamaria, please?"

As her sister continued to plead sounding more excited and happy than she had in months, the worry that had been planted in her heart began to grow, and covering the phone's receiver with her hand she looked over her shoulder at Shinn and said, " I hope you are wrong about Athrun, Shinn,cause I don't know if Meyrin would ever recover if you aren't."

Author's notes: I am sorry that this is not the rest of the date. I am still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the date and this chapter kept demanding to be written. So I hope you like it and hopefully sometime this week I will have the rest of the date up.

Thank you for reading and thank you to: D.Torres, ritachi, Genny-chan, sara, Warp Ligia Obscura, Gauri92 and LacusFa for reviewing. That was very kind of you.

Thank you again for reading and please review.

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John3:16


	10. Chapter 10

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Leaning back on the hotel bed Meyrin pushed the button for erase on her computer drawing pad. Then tuning back into her sister's voice Meyrin said, " Look Lunamaria you are the one who asked me to explain how it came to be that I need a way out of Saturday night dinner with the folks. And I am trying to tell you, but if you keep interrupting me, I am never going to be able to."

At her sister's, " All right, all right. I'll stop interrupting. I'm just still in shock over the fact that you went into hysterics." Meyrin glared at the phone at this comment then asked, " Where was I again?"

Just as Lunamaria was going to answer, Meyrin remember where their conversation had dropped off after Lunamaria had gone into a giggling fit." Never mind I remember, I was standing outside of the restaurant."

Meyrin rubbed her arms as she waited under the restaurant's canopy for Athrun to return. As she waited she thought about how the night was going.

Well, tonight certainly hasn't gone the way I thought it would. Here I was expecting a nice guy in a business suit who says he wants more of a personal life but still keeps a cell phone and a pager with him at all times. Instead I get a man that I at one point in time I care very deeply for not that I ever told him that.

Speaking of which if my sister has told Athrun anything about that old crush of mine I will kill her, no matter what my conscience says. But if on the off chance she hasn't told him anything maybe I won't kill her. Maybe I will just not talk to her for a month. It will drive her crazy and give me one less person to call.

Then again if this date continues to take a turn for the better, maybe I will only not talk to her for a week. I mean I always have wanted to go on a date with Athrun. That's shopping trip we took with Kira and Lacus so did not count. After all it ended with that poor girl's death how could it count?

As she stood there pondering all of this in her mind her eyes which had still been keeping watch for Athrun even though her mind had strayed far from the task, spotted a bright red umbrella with a pattern of some sort on it.

The fact that she couldn't make it out immediately bother her so abandoning the now repetitive thoughts in her mind, Meyrin focused on the umbrella that was steadily coming closer to her.

A grin worked it's way across her face, when she finally figured out what the pattern was. sadly Athrun was by now just a few steps away and thus saw the smirk that had suddenly popped up on her face.

Holding the umbrella over her head, while keeping himself cover as well, Athrun asked her as the began walking towards the sidewalk, " What's with the smile?"

" Am I smiling? Must be a knee jerk reaction."

At this comment Athrun raised an eyebrow and asked, " A knee jerk reaction to what?"

Smiling all the more widely Meyrin answered, " To the sight of a grown man using a umbrella in the pattern of a strawberry."

Athrun gave her a dirty look out of the corner of his eye and said, " It's my daughter's and it is also the only one I had in the car. But if you would like I could go put it back in the car and we could take a walk with out any cover at all. Just in case you are ashamed of being seen with a man carrying an strawberry umbrella."

Meyrin couldn't hold back the peal of giggles that hit her over the grumpy look on Athrun's face, but managing to take a deep breath she quickly got herself under control and said, " Oh, no I don't mind being seen with a man holding his daughter's strawberry umbrella. Now if you had bought it for yourself, I might have had to think twice about it."

Athrun merely shook his head at this bit of foolishness, then pausing on the sidewalk he glanced to the left and to the right, then turning to her he asked, " So shall we go left to the beach or to the right towards some other restaurants and stores?"

Peering around Athrun's body Meyrin also looked to the left and the right, just as she was about to suggest going to the beach so they could talk privately a small growl could be heard coming from the region of her stomach.

Flushing a light pink Meyrin hoped that Athrun didn't hear that and opened her mouth to suggest going to the left. But Athrun spoke up before she had the chance to, " I say we go to the right, so in case our walking makes us hungry plenty of places will be available for us to wander into."

Meyrin kept her head down to hide her now flaming with embarrassment cheeks and merely nodded in agreement.

They did little more than make small talk about the different signs for the restaurants and diners and small comments on what was being advertised in the store windows before Athrun halted in front of a small diner whose sign proclaimed, " Hot Homemade Soup, Gourmet and Homestlye Sandwiches, Bread made fresh daily!"

Turning to Meyrin, Athrun said, " I don't know about you but a bowl of hot soup sounds really good on a chilly night like this."

Meyrin who like Athrun was dressed lightly had also felt the bitter nip of fall in the air and with a nod of her head said, " Yes, a bowl of hot soup sounds lovely."

Athrun smiled at her pleased that she also liked the idea of stopping to eat instead of continuing on with their walk, and holding open the diners door waited until she had stepped through and then joined her inside the cozy little diner.

It was simply decorated in blue and white checkers, an older woman in a ruffled white apron and a blue and white checked dress that was obviously the diner's uniform asked them if they wanted a table for two or if they were expecting more people to join them. Athrun noting that her name was Dottie from the small name tag she had pined at her waist confirmed that it was just them two who would be dining.

Turning to go she said over her shoulder, " Right this way please."

Stopping at a table for two she asked them if she could get them anything to drink, while they looked at the menu.Athrun quickly order a cup of coffee for himself and Meyrin, then realize that he hadn't even asked her what she wanted he turned to her with a slightly ashamed look on his face and said, " I'm sorry Meyrin, I didn't even ask you what you would like to drink? Is coffee okay or would you like something else?"

Meyrin looked up from where she had buried her nose in her menu and said, " Oh no, coffee sounds great. I have to go over some things for work tonight so a little pick me up would be perfect."

Dottie having gotten the coffee right after Meyrin had said coffee would be fine with her, said " I will be right back to take your order."

Athrun glancing at his menu as he poured both him and Meyrin a cup of coffee causally said, even though he was actually very curious to know, " So you had to bring some work with you here to ORB? If you don't mind my asking exactly what is it that you do for a living?"

Meyrin having already decided what she was going to order put down her menu and took the cup of coffee that Athrun was offering her, uttering a quite thank you she took a long sip of the coffee and said, " If you really want to know I will tell you, but be warned you might get bored to tears over it."

Athrun also taking a long sip of coffee put down his menu and looking in to her eyes said, " I am sure I want to hear about it, even with the risk of being bored to tears."

Her face brightening at this comment Meyrin launched into a discussion about her clothing line. To her surprise and joy Athrun did not find talking about the inner workings of clothes designs and manufacturing boring. Though he did admit half of what she told him about he did not understand in the slightest.He seemed the most puzzled by how she picked which model would work best for each pair of clothes.

As she was winding down on her speech of which types of fabric make the best coats she was amazed to find that both she and Athrun had finished their soups,( tomato for her,clam chowder for him) and were working on their third cup of coffee.

Giving him a mock glare she said, " No this isn't fair, you have heard tons about what I have been doing but I have heard nothing about what you do with your time. So what do you do with your time, Athrun and no short answers."

Athrun leaned back in his chair and said, " For the most part I work with Cagalli's old counsel members behind the scenes deciding what would be best for the future of ORB and what the twins need to be learning so the can easily take over Cagalli's position in ORB come their sixteenth birthday. It is very time consuming and very boring. And I mean that, I find it boring and I was raised in a political household. I have an immunity built up for it's special kind of dullness.So trust me on this you don't want to hear anymore about it."

Meyrin cocked one eyebrow at him at this but instead of pressing him to elaborate on what his job was she said, " Well if you don't want to talk about your job tell me about your kids? You have three? At least I believe that is what I heard on the news once.Or am I mistaken?"

Athrun smiled softly at this and said, " No,you are not mistaken. I have been blessed with three wonderful children."

Meyrin smiled at the tenderness and love that rippled through Athrun's voice as he spoke of his children.It was a nice sight to see a man who was so devoted to his kids. She usually only got to see that when she was visiting her sister and Shinn was home.

Of course most of the people she worked with didn't have or want kids so that might be the reason she saw so few doting dad's.

Even as she was thinking this she asked, " So tell me about them, are the twins older or younger than your other child?"

" Older by several years in fact. Kilmeny and Devlin were born just a few years after Cagalli and I got married. Then when they were twelve, Cagalli unexpectedly got pregnant again. That child was Jimmy. Kilmeny is very interested in learning how to run ORB and Devlin has even gotten more interested in his studies about what his duties will be next year, though it seems he has inherited my interest in machines. Jimmy is just a bundle of fun, always laughing, always trying to find new ways to get in trouble." As he spoke Athrun's eyes took on a glazed look as if he was looking at something that gave him both a great deal of joy but also a great deal of pain.

Wondering at the change in him, Meyrin was about to ask if their was something wrong when a sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Cagalli had died in childbirth which meant that Jimmy was the baby she had died delivering.

Knowing that she could not understand the memories that probably haunted Athrun daily, Meyrin did the only thing she could think to do, she placed her hand on his and giving it a gentle squeeze said, " They sound like wonderful people, Athrun. I wish I could met them."

Blinking quickly Athrun focused his attention back onto her, for a moment he just looked at her and then he asked, " Do you mean that?"

Now Meyrin began blinking this time in confusion, " Why, yes Athrun I meant that, why do you ask?"

Reaching out and grasping her hand in his own he said, " Because I would like to invite you on a picnic me and the family are having next Saturday. And don't worry it won't just be you me and the kids. Kira and Lacus will be their too with their daughter Alice."

" Please say you will come, Meyrin. Having a someone to talk to that I am not related to or working with has been a wonderful experience and I would never have been able to have had it if you hadn't gone along with Kira and his crazy schemes. So at least let me fulfill your wish of meeting mine and Cagalli's kids. Please?"

Looking into his pleading green eyes trying to figure out what was really going on in his head, since his entire offer was very odd to her especially the comment about Kira and weird schemes, one thing stuck out in her mind. Athrun needed her, for what reason she did not know but this she did know she had never been able to turn Athrun down when he had need her before and she knew even now she still unable to say no to him.

So wrapping her hand more securely around his Meyrin said, " It would be a honor to met your family Athrun. Which means my answer is yes, just give me the time and the place and I will be there waiting for you."

As she said these words Meyrin was conscious of a feeling of giddy happiness filling her, what she was so happy about Meyrin refused to think about. But a part of her deep down inside that never obeyed the rest of her mind and heart's wishes was pretty sure that the joy that was currently filling her heart had something to do with the fact that Athrun was still holding her hand.

" And that Lunamaria is why I need to get out of Saturday night dinner. By the way thanks for helping me out with that little issue." Just as Lunamaria was about to make a comment, which Meyrin had no doubt would be about something she should have done differently on the date,so instead of waiting to see if her hunch was right, Meyrin clicked off the phone and threw it onto the floor.

Looking at the pantsuit she had designed while talking to her sister she mumbled to herself. " I wonder what one wears at a picnic."

Author's notes: First off I am sorry for not having updated this in so long. My brain turned to a bowl of mush when it came to this story and just now returned to a solid form.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter. And thank you for reviewing: D.Torres, ritachi, LacusFan, Gauri92, blazingicephoenix, mohxo,Genny-chan, and love.

D. Torres, Thank you for the suggestion.It is a pretty good idea. I am actually not quite sure what I am going to do with that situation yet.

blazingicephoenix, Thank you for the comment. I am glad you enjoyed the Bible verse.

Thank you again for reading.

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.Romans 3:23


	11. Chapter 11

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

Pulling up to his house, Athrun was going to just sit awhile and try to puzzle out some of the more perplexing parts of his date. But as he glanced out his front window at the rest of the driveway he noticed that Kira and Lacus's car was gone and the twins cars had returned.

Sighing softly to himself he opened the car door and stepping out took a deep breath straightened his shoulders and headed into the house.

After announcing himself he heard the twins call ' hi' from the living room. Hanging up his coat in the hall closet he headed towards the living room going through what he was going to say to the twins about Meyrin joining them on Saturday in his head. But when he reached the doorway into the living he had still not hit upon the right words to say.

Walking into the room, Athrun seated himself in a chair across from them and clearing his throat, he said, " So how did your nights out go?"

Kilmeny and Devlin looked up from the books they were reading and focused their attention onto their father.Kilmeny raised an eyebrow at him and said, " Shouldn't we be asking you that?"

Athrun gave her a look and said, " I don't like your tone young lady, so if you want me to actually answer that question you better change it."

Kilmeny sat up a little straighter on the sofa and staring down at her feet said, " Yes sir. Will you please tell us how your date went?"

Athrun turned to Devlin after this statement and asked, " Do you want to hear about my date as well Devlin or would you rather not?"

Devlin looked at him, his eyes appearing a dark amber color in the semi lit room and said, " Yes, Father I would also like to hear how your date went. If you are willing to tell us that is."

Athrun smiled at his son and said, " Yes, I am willing to tell you about it."

Athrun then settled himself in his chair and when he was in a comfortable position, proceed to tell his two oldest about his date.

For the most part they were silent, other than a few giggles over his and Meyrin's reunion, they were also almost completely expressionless. Seems they had learned how to keep a poker face on a little too well, Athrun thought to himself wryly as he came to the end of the date, the part he had been dreading telling them about.

Sadly that dread had been well founded.

The minute they heard Meyrin was coming to their annual family picnic, both of them threw a fit.

Kilmeny jumped to her feet and glaring down at him yelled, " How could you do that? No one outside the family has ever gone to our picnic. And now you just..."

Kilmeny was going to go on but at that second Devlin jumped in, " Yes, Father how could you invite a perfect stranger to the family picnic. For crying out loud it's a tradition that Mother started and now you just..." At this moment the twins voices joined in one loathsome comment.

" And now you just invite some filthy whore to it!"

At this the small line of patience that Athrun had been trying to keep a hold of when it came to the twins behavior on this subject snapped, and rising to his feet he glared down at his children. And while his green eyes shot sparks his voice was very, very calm.

" I want you to apologize for saying that about a friend of mine. And I also want you to realize something. I am never going to hear either of you speak that way about Meyrin Hawke again. For if I do the consequences of that action will not be ones that you can shrug or laugh off. Do I make myself clear?"

Visibly shrinking at the sight of their father's wrath, Kilmeny and Devlin said, " Yes sir, we are sorry for saying that about your friend, Father."

Looking at them both his temper was still not cooled when he bit out, " Very well. Now go to your rooms."

Athrun remained standing in the living room as the twins stomped resentfully up to their rooms. The echo of Kilmeny's door being slammed reached him as it did a small whimper reached him as well.Turning towards the source of the noise Athrun picked up the baby monitor in his hand, waiting to see if Jimmy would just fall back to sleep on his own or if he would be required to go up there he took a couple of deep breaths to try and remove the tension in his back that his fight with Kilmeny and Devlin had caused.

After two minutes of waiting Jimmy's cries had not faded in the slightest. On the contrary Athrun was pretty sure they had gained volume. Putting down the baby monitor, he flipped off the two lamps that had been lighting the living room and headed up the stairs to Jimmy's room.

Jimmy was sitting up in his bed sucking his thumb when his father entered his room. Holding out his arms to be picked up, Jimmy let out a contented sigh when he felt his Father's strong arms holding him close.

Feeling Jimmy start to drop off in his arms after having held him a while, while also swaying back in forth for a few minutes Athrun laid him back down on his bed. As he covered up his now peacefully sleeping youngest, Athrun half talked to him and half talked to himself.

" Well Jimmy it looks like your Daddy has managed to make your big brother and sister pretty mad at him."

Rubbing Jimmy's back in a soothing circular motion to be sure he stayed asleep after he left, Athrun continued speaking in a half whisper, " But the problem is that Daddy doesn't understand why he did the thing that made your brother and sister so angry. After all this date was supposed to be a one time deal. But then I found out that Meyrin was my date, and to my surprise she was just as kind hearted and friendly as I remembered. I guess it wasn't until I talked to her that I truly realized how lonely I've been."

"Maybe that's why I invited her to our family picnic Jimmy. I didn't want to lose the one person who made the loneliness fade a little. But then again don't I want to be lonely? After all the loneliness always made me think of your Mother and how much I miss her."

At this thought Athrun looked up and looking out the bedroom's window his eyes staring at the big full moon as he asked himself in a haunted voice, " But if that is the case then why, why do I want to see Meyrin again so desperately?"

Author's notes: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review.

Thank you to, Gauri92, D. Torres, ritachi, anime gamer 191, Genny-chan for reviewing.

Thank you, D. Torres for your advice I did go back and change it a little because I also thought it was a little off.

Thank you Genny-chan for reviewing sorry about the repost of chapter ten. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you again for reading.

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 6:23


	12. Chapter 12

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of. 

Lacus hummed softly to herself as she braided her long pink hair into one huge plaint in the back. It was one of her normal nightly rituals as was trying to distract her husband from whatever book he was reading.

Why she kept distracting him from his books she had no idea. At least she had no idea why she did it now. She knew why she had done it when she was younger. At that time in her life she had decided that far to many things kept her Kira's mind from where it rightfully belong. Focused solely on her.

While that sounded rather selfish, which was exactly how she had behaved in their first years of marriage, Lacus had been unable to stop herself from behaving so.

She had the feeling that it was because she had had to share him with so many people for the first four years that they had know each other, after all she didn't have any special claim on him at that point in time.

It was because of all this sharing before they had gotten married that after they had married she was extremely annoyed when ever he focused his attention on a book instead of her at night the one part of the day when they could be completely alone.

So she had begun making up ways to get Kira to focus on her and only her.

When they were newly married she had used the obvious means to get her husband's attention.But now that they had been married for several years that was not always the type of attention she wanted from him. Thus she had begun using other methods. Her favorite one had been when she told him that Yzak had called and asked her to run away with him.

Which had been a complete lie of course. Yzak was happily married to Shiho and anyways he was far to honorable to ask a woman to leave her husband.

It had immediately grabbed Kira's attention though. And while she had been very happy with the results Kira had just days later pulled a trick on her that had made it a ploy she could never use again.

Kira had cheerfully told her one day right before they were going to meet Yzak and Shiho for lunch that he had told Yzak about the way she had used him to get his attention one night.

Before she had had the chance to ask him what Yzak's reaction had been to it, Yzak and Shiho had walked up to them and started pleasantly chatting. It wasn't until weeks later when Shiho asked her why she had only blushed and stammered through the whole meal that Lacus had discovered that Kira hadn't told Yzak a thing.

She hadn't tried to distract him from his book for an entire week after that little joke.

But while her mind was buzzing with ideas of how she could get his attention, Lacus knew that she didn't have to use any of those ideas tonight.

Kira was already distracted from his book by worries of how Athrun's date went.

Turning around to look at him, Lacus slipped in between the covers and scooting over to Kira's side and laying her head on his chest said, " So are you going to tell me why you set Athrun up with Meyrin? Or am I going to have to kick you out of this nice warm bed?"

Kira immediately pulled his attention away from his book, after all he had just read the same sentence about twenty times, even he knew when it was best to just give up, and focused it on his wife.

The look in her deep blue eyes told him that this was not one of her teasing questions, the ones she used when she was just trying to keep him from reading, but was in fact a serious question one that had consequences if he didn't answer it properly.

Sighing softly to himself, he replied to her question the same way he had the last ten times she had asked it, " Lacus, I already told you. The reason I set Athrun up with Meyrin is private and I am not talking about my privacy either. Now will you please just drop it?"

Seeing the frustration in Kira's eyes Lacus felt a sharp pang of regret in her heart. She hadn't realized until now just how much her pestering him for an answer was truly bothering him.

Thus with a contrite look in her eyes Lacus scooted herself further up Kira's chest until they were eye to eye.

" I'm sorry Kira, I shouldn't have pestered you so much about this. I was just curious if you had set them up because you had also realized that they had liked each other so long ago."

The stunned look in his eyes made Lacus's lips twitch upwards into a smile. Cocking her head to the side she said, " What did you think I didn't notice that Athrun had a small crush on Meyrin way back when they had first met?"

Kira's eyebrow arched above his left eye and he replied, " No I didn't realize that you had know that." Suddenly a slightly worried look appeared in his eyes." Did Cagalli also realize that Athrun had a crush on Meyrin?"

Lacus's smile became very kind at this question, and she shook her head softly before she said, " No, Cagalli was able to tell that Meyrin cared for Athrun but she was blind to the fact that Athrun had any feelings for her in return. Beside Athrun's love for Cagalli was steadfast and true, any knowledge of Athrun's attraction to Meyrin would have just caused her needless pain. Which is why I never mentioned it to her.And since I know that you agree with me on that point thus ending this line of questions, might I ask you another question?"

Looking up into Lacus's deep blue eyes Kira knew what her question would be but this time he felt no reservation in answering it, so he said, " Go ahead and ask."

Smiling happily at this Lacus said, " Did you set Meyrin up with Athrun because of their old feelings for each other?"

Kira placed his forehead on her's and said, " Yes, I set Meyrin up with Athrun because of their old attraction to each other. Any other questions?"

Lacus still smiling shook her head from side to side while still keeping her forehead pressed to Kira's. " No, I have no other questions."

" That's good." Kira said a small smirk starting to creep across his face.

Tilting her head to the side Lacus asked a little crossly, " Oh, and why is that?"

" Because now I can do this!" And having said that, Kira pulled his wife closer to him and caught his wife's lips with his own.

Lacus's last lucid thought before she was lost in the bliss of her husband's kiss was, 'oh'!

Meanwhile on a Plant far away from Orb a young woman was being rudely awakened by a loud rapping on her front door.

Stomping over to the door to her house Cynthia Niles yanked it open and, glared up at the handsome face of Saul Kent. Pushing back the long strands of black hair that were currently dangling into her eyes she shot him a dirty look then practically growled out, " What are you doing here, Saul?"

Paying no heed to the obvious anger in her voice or the voices in the back of his head that told him Cynthia's temper was nothing to mess with, Saul pushed past her into the small but luxurious two story house.As he began walking towards her living room he called over his shoulder, " I'm sorry to bother you this late at night, Cynthia, but I really need to talk to you."

While this statement did give her an answer to her question of what he was doing here, it did nothing to calm her raising temper so still glaring at him, she quietly shut the door and stalked past him into the kitchen.

As she walked past him she called over her shoulder, " If you so desperately need to talk to me you better get your hinder in here before I just kick you back outside."

This caused the young blonde man to stop just staring blankly at her living room, and instead start staring at her back while automatically following her into her kitchen.

Sitting down at the padded metal chair in the kitchen decorate in old farm house memorabilia, Saul immediately began to talk as Cynthia sat down in the chair in front of him.

" Cynthia, what do you know about the guy Meyrin went out with tonight?"

Giving him a look she said, " I don't know anything about the guy Meyrin went out with tonight Saul. Neither did she for that matter it was a blind date her sister set her up on, why do you ask?"

Saul gave Cynthia a dirty look and then said, " I am not in the mood to play games Cynthia, you know I care about Meyrin. And that is the reason I am asking if you know anything about the guy she went out with tonight.'

" Yes, Saul I know you care about Meyrin and I also know she turned you down." Before Saul could say anything to try and make the fact that Meyrin had turned him down flat seem like nothing, Cynthia put up her hand to stop the words that were about to flow out of his mouth and said, " I am not saying she made the right decision when she turned you down I am just saying that she did which means you have no right to even know if she is dating much less who she is dating."

Saul's slate gray eyes narrowed at this comment but instead of remarking on it he decided to get straight to what was bothering him, " Regardless of me not having the right to know who Meyrin is dating, as a friend I do have the right to be worried when I know that the guy she is dating is just trying to use her."

This comment made Cynthia sit up a little straighter in her chair and actually focus on what Saul was saying with all of her attention instead of just half of it like she had been doing,it also caused her to ask," What do you mean he is using her?"

Saul's lips thinned as he replied, " I mean that the guy Meyrin went out on a date with is married! I was at the same restaurant they went to in Orb speaking with a photographer about the spread I am suppose to do for a big department store chain that has it's main office in Orb. And imagine my surprise when I saw Meyrin sitting at a table directly across from me.The only thing that stopped me from speaking to her is the fact that her date showed up before I could, the creep."

"So you saw Meyrin and her date, how do you know he is married? Have you met him before or something?"

"No I have not met that jerk before!" Scorn literally dripped from Saul's voice as he said this. After this little display of pure loathing for Meyrin's blind date, he continued with his story.

" I know he is married because I saw his wedding ring. The guy didn't even have enough class to remove it before his date."

At this little bit of information Cynthia's dark brown eyes grew diamond hard and her voice took on a far more dangerous edge than the one she had greeted Saul with at the door.

" Are you sure that you saw a wedding ring?"

Saul placed his chin in the palm of his right hand and said his voice full of both weariness and anger, " Yes, I am sure. Now my question is what are we going to do about this?"

Cynthia let out a deep sigh and said, " I don't know, but what I do know is that she has another date with this guy next Saturday."

" Cynthia, we have to keep her from going on that date." Saul's voice had a hint of panic in it as he said this.

Cynthia said nothing in reply to this comment, she just stared at the red and white checkered marble top of her table. Saul knew that Cynthia often spaced out when she was planning something so he held his tongue even though he wanted to get out of his seat and shake her until she told him how to stop Meyrin from dating the slime ball.

After a good five minutes Cynthia finally spoke. But what she said was not what Saul expected to hear.

" We are not going to stop her from seeing this guy."

This statement did get Saul out of his chair, lunging to his feet he loomed over the slender young woman sitting in front of him. He then proceed to practically roar at her," What do you mean we are not going to stop her from seeing this guy!"

Not even blinking an eye Cynthia looked up and said very calmly, " I mean we are not going to stop her from seeing this guy, what we are going to do is make her fall in love with you first."

Plopping into his chair like a balloon with all the air let out of it, Saul said, " What do you mean we are going to make her fall in love with me first?"

" I mean while this guy is trying to win Meyrin over you are going to be her knight in shining armor. When he is to busy with his wife to even talk to Meyrin you will be there with a sympathetic ear. When he has to cancel a date you will be there with tickets to her favorite movie. Do you see where I am going with this?" The cunning smirk on Cynthia's face scared Saul a little but the plan was very pleasing to him. After all he had loved Meyrin for over a year now, and if a little dirty pool was the only way he would be able to show her how devoted he was to her than so be it.

Leaning forward he smiled slowly and said, " Tell me more."

Author's notes: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much for reading it. Please review.

I promise next chapter will have Athrun and Meyrin in it!

Thank you to:LacusFan, TrueMoon, D. Torres, ritachi, anime gamer 191, Gauri92, silva, jsbach, Genny-chan, Alexandria Scherazade, and Anonymous, for reviewing. All your comments are very encouraging!

Thank you again for reading and reviewing!

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:1-2 


	13. Chapter 13

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai, and Sunrise and other people I do not know.

" Who's the hottie?" Meyrin came back to reality with a jerk at this question. Glancing up at the lovely face of one of her favorite models and closest friends, Meyrin asked Daisy Winery confusingly.

" Who are you talking about Daisy? There are no male models here today. Are there?" Here Meyrin stood up from her desk where she was supposed to have been drawing new fashions for spring.

At least she certainly hoped she had been since for the last hour she had been drawing on automatic pilot while she once again daydreamed about Athrun.

As she took a quick glance out the window of her office at the room below her and while she noted several young men none of them were models and none of them were what Daisy would think attractive. So with one last glance over all the people there,she gave Daisy another puzzled look and said, " Daisy, I don't see any hottie's here. Who are you talking about?"

Daisy's light green eyes lit up with amusement as she leaned over Meyrin's shoulder and tapped on her drawing pad.

"I'm talking about this hottie right here, Meyrin."

With a feeling of dread engulfing her Meyrin looked down at her drawing pad for the first time in an hour.The entire page was filled with drawings of Athrun, ranging from his 18 year old self to the Athrun she had met last Friday.

A flaming hot blush covered her face as she stared at the pad in horror. Spinning around to face Daisy she quickly clicked off the screen of the computer art pad she had been drawing on.

The smug look on Daisy's face showed she had been to late with that action though.

" Now, now Meyrin there is no reason for you to be ashamed of drawing handsome young men. That is unless it's a real man which might cause you to feel a little ashamed of yourself. But that isn't the case, is it Meyrin?"

" You're not sitting around drawing and fantasizing about a real guy when there is work to be done are you?" The evil smirk on Daisy's face grew as the deep red flush on Meyrin's face spread from her cheeks to her neck and ears.

As Daisy stood there still with that smirk on her face Meyrin ducked her head and mumbled, " didn't know I was drawing him."

At this admission Daisy let out a shriek of girlish delight and wrapping Meyrin up in a spontaneous hug she sad, " So you do admit that you were fantasizing about him."

Meyrin gave Daisy a dirty look at this and said, " Yes, I was _daydreaming_," she stressed the word daydreaming, "about him but nothing dirty."

Daisy just smiled even more brightly at this paying no heed to the rebuke in her boss's voice.

" I never said you were thinking dirty things about him, Meyrin."

Meyrin's look was disbelieving at this remark and she replied rather sarcastically, " Really? Your face said differently."

Daisy smiled a little sheepishly at this and swiftly diverted the flow of the conversation before she landed herself in even more hot water.

" Well, never mind all that, you still haven't answered my original question. Who is he?"

Meyrin gave her an annoyed look and shrugged Daisy's hands off her shoulders in a clear signal that she did not want to continue this conversation. If Daisy noticed this she didn't let on that she had and instead continued to pester her.

" So are you going to tell me what I want to know or am I going to have to go downstairs and let the rest of the crew know that our prim and proper boss has been upstairs drawing and dreaming about a real man?"

Meyrin looked up from studying the pictures she had drawn of Athrun. Oddly enough she had drawn some new clothes designs as well. The problem was that she had drawn them all on him!

Letting out a soft growl of frustration aimed at both the drawing pad and Daisy, she spun her chair around so that she was once again facing Daisy.

" All right Daisy you win. I will tell you about the man in the drawings. But you better not tell anyone else about him. For if you do I promise you will regret it."

Daisy was about to laugh at this comment except the look in Meyrin's eye told her that it was not an empty threat. Swallowing hard she smiled and said, " I promise this girl talk will not leave this room."

Meyrin studied her face for a minute or so and then seeing the sincerity in her eyes she nodded once and said, " His name is Athrun Zala. He is an old friend of mine that I recently re-met which is why I was thinking about him. Does that answer your question, Daisy?"

Daisy had a slightly stunned look on her face after Meyrin said this, it was a look that Meyrin could not understand in the slightest. After all what was so stunning about the name Athrun Zala?

But just as she was about to ask her what was wrong, Daisy let out a squeal and grasping Meyrin's hands in her's she said, " You know the prince of ORB?"

Meyrin blinked slightly feeling a tad stunned herself by this comment. "Um, yes?" Was all that she could think to say.

" Meyrin, how can you be so calm? You know the best looking prince in the universe!" Daisy let go of Meyrin's hands as she said this and jumped around in a circle while clapping her hands together with glee.

" Daisy it's not that amazing. He is just a prince in name after all. And I am just a friend of his, you make it sound like he is my ticket to all the hot parties and the most amazing people."

Daisy calmed herself down at this this sarcastic comment giving Meyrin a dirty look in the process. " Excuse me for being excited about the fact that one of my closest friends is dating a handsome prince. Honestly Meyrin you can be such a spoiled sport."

" Daisy, when did I tell you I was dating Athrun?" Confusion knitted Meyrin's brow as she asked her this.

Daisy smiled mischievously and said, " Just now."

Then seeing Meyrin's eyes narrowing in a clear sign of rising temper, she darted across the room and opened the door. Right before she slipped out she turned her head back towards Meyrin and with a teasing smile said, " You have a good time on your next date, Boss. Give him a kiss for me okay?"

Then with a wink and a giggle she was gone. Leaving behind and embarrassed and disgruntled Meyrin.

Turning back to the drawing pad she studied the pictures of Athrun one more time before pulling up a folder and pressing the button that said save.

Having done so she leaned back in her chair and putting her fingers to her lips, she tapped them slightly her mind replaying Daisy's last words, " Give him a kiss for me."

Smiling wryly she dropped her hand back into her lap and whispering softly to herself she said, " I will admit Daisy, I would like to give him a kiss but not one from you."

Her cheeks flushing slightly at this admission, she picked up her drawing pen and pushing all thoughts of Athrun to the back of her mind she was finally able to get started on the new spring fashions.

----

Four days later she was standing in front of Athrun's house in ORB, Daisy's teasing words still ringing in her mind, along with her own mind spilling out its own useful words of caution.

Most especially cautious words that stated the simple fact that she and Athrun were only friends. Nothing else.

So with all of this still whirling in her mind she rang the doorbell and while she waited she tried to get her thoughts straightened out before she had to met his children. After all the last thing she wanted to do was say something embarrassing in front of them.

Especially the thoughts about their dad being very attractive. Somehow she had the feeling his kids would really not want to hear her say that.

After a few minutes of patient waiting during which she was able to get her mind in a semblance of order, the door finally opened.

Smiling brightly Meyrin looked straight forward and saw.

No one.

Cocking her head in puzzlement she was just about to call out hello, when a small voice said, " Are you the lady, Daddy wants to be my new Mommy?"

Meyrin stared blankly down at the miniature version of Athrun, her mouth slightly open but unable to say a single word.

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading. Sorry about there being no Athrun in this chapter. I wanted to put him in but it just wasn't working.

I hope you liked it. Thank you again for reading. Please review.

Thank you to: D.Torres, anime gamer 191, ritachi, Genny-chan, Alexandria Scherazade, Warp Ligia Obscura, cherryheart, for reviewing. They were all very encouraging. Thank you again.

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:3-5


	14. Chapter 14

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

Stammering slightly Meyrin bent down until she was eye level with the little boy in front of her and in a high pitched voice squeaked out, " H-hello, m-my name is Meyrin Hawke. Um, is your Daddy home?"

The child gazed up at her with big gold eyes and said in a happy tone, " You are the lady Daddy wants to be my new mommy. Can I call you Mommy?"

Meyrin's eyes grew round with horror at this question, and in a soft voice in hopes of not hurting the young child's feelings, who was currently looking at her with happiness and longing in his eyes, Meyrin said, " Jimmy, your name is Jimmy right?"

The little boy nodded his head vigorously in reply to this question his smile growing even wider. Smiling in return though it was a smile touched with unease Meyrin said, " Jimmy while it is very flattering of you to ask permission to call me Mommy. I am going to have to say no."

The smile slipped off of Jimmy's face in an instant to be replaced with a frown that was accompanied with tears and sniffles.

Reaching forward Meyrin brushed away a few tears that had fallen onto his cheeks and in a voice filled with panic she begged him. " Jimmy, don't cry. Please don't cry, Jimmy."

Looking up at her with his big golden eyes he asked between sniffles, " Why can't I call you, Mommy? Don't you like me?"

At this Meyrin gathered him into her arms and giving him a comforting hug she leaned back a little so she could look into his face and seeing that he was still distressed she said the first thing that came to mind. " It's not that I don't like you Jimmy, I just don't think you should call me Mommy until your Daddy and I get married. Is that okay with you?"

Jimmy's happy smile returned at these words but just as Meyrin was beginning to grasp what had just flown out of her mouth, Jimmy threw her off balance with another question.

" So when are you and Daddy getting married?"

And because her mind was still trying to explain to her just how much of a mess she had just caused for herself, her mouth once again took off ahead of her brain.

" I don't know he hasn't asked me to marry him yet."

Jimmy stared at her for a moment and then with an odd look in his eye one she couldn't figure out but one that his father would have known boded no good, Jimmy made a rather startling announcement. " I can fix that!"

Grinning up into her horrified face he ran off while she stared helplessly her mind screaming at her. " You are in so much trouble!"

Leaning backwards she let out an audible groan. But before she could go into a full fledge panic attack a familiar if not recently seen face popped into view.

Falling from her still crouched position Meyrin let out a little shriek as her bum hit the marble floor of the entry way. Grimacing she grasped the hand held out to her and once upon her feet used her other hand the one she had used to push herself off the floor to rub her aching backside.

The sound of an unsympathetic giggle brought her eyes around to meet a pair of cheerful ice blue eyes. " Hi Lacus,can I assume from your happy expression that you are doing well?"

Lacus's smile grew at this rather sarcastic remark and she said, " Hmm, yes I am doing well. Can I assume from the lingering look of panic in your eyes that all is not well with you?"

Giving Lacus a dejected look Meyrin told her what had just occurred between herself and Jimmy.

Lacus blinked a few times after Meyrin was through explaining a look of amazement on her face. Then in a voice filled with both amusement and pity she said, " You have definitely created a mess for yourself, Meyrin."

Seeing the crestfallen look on Meyrin's face as she said this Lacus's face melted into a compassionate smile. " But I think I can help you out."

A look of hope began to blossom in Meyrin's eyes and grasping Lacus's hands in her own she said, " Really! Oh, thank you so much Lacus! I would really appreciate any help you could give me."

Lacus once again smiled sweetly at Meyrin and gently pulling her hands loose from Meyrin's she said, " Meyrin it is my pleasure to be able to help you but if I don't go and find Jimmy before he finds Athrun, you will be in a whole lot of trouble."

Taking a step away from Lacus, Meyrin gave her an anxious look and then waving her hands at her in a shooing motion she said," Then please excuse my bluntness but I would be eternally grateful if you would leave."

Giggling softly Lacus nodded and quickly left Meyrin to go in search of her nephew.

Watching Lacus go down the same hallway that Jimmy had gone down Meyrin could only hope that Lacus found him before he found his daddy and told him the silly things that Meyrin had told Jimmy.

Seeing that she was now once again alone in the main entryway of the house she looked around in search of another door that would hopefully lead her to someone or something that could lead her to Athrun.

Noticing one on the other side of the room she walked over to it and placing her hand on the doorknob she was just about to turn it when it instead turned under her hand. Leaping back a little from shock she waited to see who was behind the door.

At the sight of the person who had been behind the door a bright smile lit up her face.

" Meyrin, I didn't know you had arrived. Why didn't anybody tell me you were already here?"

Athrun smiled sweetly down at her as he said this, his head cocked to the side as he looked down at her.

Meyrin blinked up at him blankly all the nice words she had been thinking of over the past week flying from her mind leaving behind nothing more than what Daisy had asked her to do and her conversation with Jimmy.

Which is why the minute her eyes saw his lips she flushed a deep red and blurted out rather loudly. " Hi Athrun, Jimmy answered the door so he probably just forgot he had to tell you that I was here."

Hearing how odd her voice sounded she fell silent the shyness she had struggled with as a child and teen falling over her again.

Athrun bit his lip as he looked down at her but instead of mentioning how odd her tone was he reached out and grasping her hand pulled it around his arm to come to rest on his elbow.

Looking down at her he said, " Well since you have already met my youngest would you like to come with me and meet my two eldest children?"

Not trusting herself enough to say something that would not end up embrassing her furture Meyrin nodded in reply.

Walking beside him through his house she looked around at the beautiful painting and furniture that covered the rooms that they walked through. Before they walked through the french glass doors into the backyard of the house her eye was caught by a large painting hanging over the fireplace in a room she assumed was the living room.

It was a beautiful family portrait of Athrun, Cagalli and their twins. As Athrun moved her forward and out the french doors her mind made an observation that brought a pang of sorrow to her heart.

The smile that Athrun was wearing in that portrait was brighter and happier than any Meyrin had ever seen on his face. And since the smile he was wearing in that picture seemed to be because of who he was looking at in it she was worried that she would never see it in person.

After all that smile seemed to belong solely to Cagalli the one he was gazing at in the picture and somehow she could not find the hope to believe that he would ever smile so sweetly and lovingly at her.

-------

Author's notes: I am sorry if there is anything off about this chapter. I have been having a sad week.

Thank you for reading. Please review.

Thank you to: D.Torres, silvia, ritachi, Gauri92, Alexandria Scherazade, ShinigamiZero16, Genny-chan, Anacondaq-chan, Slightly Sinister Sinestra, moonpower02 for reviewing they were all very encouraging and bright spots to my days.

God bless you, Jesus loves you,

EzrathenNehemiah And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. John 6:35


	15. Chapter 15

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

"So what was the reason Aunt Meyrin, will be skipping out of today's lunch again?" Mayu Asuka asked, as she snapped her gum between her teeth while watching her mother prepare for the lunch with her grandparents.

Lunamaria turned to look at her daughter who was currently kicking the end of her and Shinn's bed with her clunky black shoes. Seeing that her daughter had allowed her blue floral dress to twist around her causing the fabric to wrinkle, Lunamaria gave her a disapproving look and said, "Straighten out your dress, Mayu, it will look horrible if you let it wrinkle."

After Mayu had done so Lunamaria answered her daughter's question. "Your Aunt Meyrin, is not coming to the lunch today because she has a date, Mayu. And why are you asking me this again?"

Mayu fiddled with her dress, her fingers twisting in the fabric a sure sign that she was nervous about something.

Eyebrows lowering in concern, Lunamaria clasped her silver chain necklace around her neck and then walked over to her bed to sit beside her daughter.

Putting an arm around Mayu's shoulders, Lunamaria gave her daughter a slight squeeze and asked, "Mayu, is there something bothering you?"

Mayu gave her mother a hesitant glance than said, "No, it's just why won't you tell me who she is going out with? Or at least tell Grandma and Grandpa, if they knew Aunt Meyrin was dating again maybe they would stop being so grouchy with her."

Lunamaria bit her lip at this rather cute way of describing the strained relationship her sister and parents shared.

Giving her daughter another quick squeeze, Lunamaria pressed a gentle kiss on to her daughter's black hair. Then grasping her chin in her hand, Lunamaria waited until her daughter's blue eyes met her own and when they had she said in a gentle voice, "Mayu, it is sweet of you to be so worried about your Aunt Meyrin, but I don't think telling your Grandma and Grandpa, that she is dating again will magically fix their relationship."

Mayu's face fell at this statement and in a sad voice she asked, "Do you think Grandma and Grandpa, will ever forgive Aunt Meyrin for not marrying that guy who first asked her?"

Lunamaria smiled a bit sadly at this question and shaking her head slowly, she said, "Mayu, I wish I could tell you that they will eventually be on good terms with each other again, but their relationship has been on the rocks for a very long time. Even before Meyrin broke off her relationship with her first fiancé her and your grandparents had trouble seeing eye to eye."

Mayu raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "Are you talking about Aunt Meyrin, leaving Zaft when she was sixteen?"

Lunamaria nodded as she said, "Yes, Grandma and Grandpa have never been able to understand why Meyrin betrayed Zaft even after Gilbert was proven to be a nut job. I suppose the fact that your father and I stayed loyal through the whole war might have something to with that, though why Meyrin's decisions should be the same as our's I have no idea." Lunamaria's eyes rolled upwards as she pondered that idea.

"Well just because she betrayed Zaft doesn't mean they have the right to be mad at her all the time." Mayu crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip defiantly as she said this.

Lunamaria couldn't help but laugh at this comment. " I agree with you, Mayu, but I don't know what to do about it."

"Well, you could tell Grandma and Grandpa, that Aunt Meyrin is dating again, it might help." Mayu said, yet again.

Lunamaria gave her daughter a stern look and said, "Since my first try at explaining to you why that would not help, I am going to tell you who, your Aunt Meyrin is dating. Maybe that will convince you that telling your grandparents about it is a bad idea.But before I tell you, his name you have to promise me that you will not tell your grandparents about him."

Mayu's eyes grew wide with curiosity and excitement at this, and nodding eagerly, she said, " I promise, I won't tell, Mom. Now, who is, Aunt Meyrin dating?"

A small smirk twisting the corners of her mouth at her daughter's obvious eagerness for gossip, Lunamaria said, "She is dating, Athrun Zala."

Watching her daughter's face go from confusion to realization to amazement was very amusing for Lunamaria, but her high pitched yells were not.

"Aunt Meyrin, is dating a king!And not just any king, but the guy she ran off with when she was sixteen! That is sooo romantic! Can I call her, and ask how their date is going? Please, Mom? Can I please?"

"No, you may not, Mayu."

The answer to Mayu's question did not come from her mother, but from her father who had just come out of his and Lunamaria's bathroom, where he had been getting dressed.

Turning to look at her father with a petulant pout on her lips, Mayu asked, "Why not?"

Walking over to the bed where Lunamaria and Mayu were sitting, Shinn ruffled his daughter's shoulder length hair with one hand, earning him a dirty look from said daughter.

Cheerfully ignoring the dirty look, he answered her question, " You can't call your Aunt Meyrin, because she is in the middle of a date, Mayu. A phone call could interrupt a conversation that, she and Athrun, are having."

"Or a kiss." Mayu piped in with a naughty grin.

Rolling his eyes at this comment, Shinn sighed, and said, "Or, a kiss they are sharing, either way I don't think your Aunt would appreciate you calling her right now."

Mayu's face fell at this bit of logic, and with a sad eyed look she nodded, and said, "Yes, Daddy."

Taking in her puppy eyed look, Shinn and Lunamaria exchanged a glance and with a sigh of defeat, Shinn said, "If it's okay with your mother, you can call your Aunt Meyrin, later tonight when her date is over. Ok?"

Her face lighting up, Mayu threw her arms around his neck and said happily, "Thank you, Daddy!"

Then catching sight of her hair in her mother's mirror she let out a shriek, and leaping to her feet, she rushed out of the room, calling over her shoulder, "I can't go to grandma and grandpa's looking with my hair looking like this!"

Stopping outside the door she looked back at them and said, "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes!"

And with that she was gone.

Laughing softly, Lunamaria, fell back onto the bed and looking up into Shinn's bright red eyes, she said, "Do you think I made the right decision by telling Mayu, who Meyrin was dating?"

Laying down on his stomach beside her, Shinn met her worried eyes with a reassuring look of his own. "I think it would be wise of us both to be prepared for the fact that she might slip up and tell your parents, but yeah, I think you made the right decision."

"Thanks a lot Shinn, that was exactly what I needed to hear." Lunamaria said sarcastically.

Smothering his desire to laugh at his wife's less than pleased expression, Shinn reached over and brushing his fingers through her bangs, he raised himself up on his elbows so he could look down at her face better, seeing that she was really worried about her parents finding out about Meyrin, Shinn leaned forward until his forehead touched her's and said. "I'm sorry about causing you more worry, I just think it would be wise for us to be prepared for the worse. Which in this case is your parents finding about Meyrin and Athrun. Speaking of which, has Meyrin mentioned anything to you about telling your parents who she is now seeing?"

Grumbling softly to herself, Lunamaria, said in an irritated voice, "No, she hasn't. I think she planning on never telling them."

Shinn raised an eyebrow at this and said, "But what if their relationship works out? Is she just going to send them wedding invitations and let them find out about her and Athrun that way?"

Giggling at the mental image that popped into her head of her parents faces after receiving the news that Meyrin was going to marry Athrun Zala ( a man they hated) Lunamaria put her hands on either side of Shinn's face and pulling him downwards, she kissed him slightly on the lips, and then pushing him off her, she bounced up and off the bed.

Standing up she straightened her light blue blouse and kaki colored slacks. Shinn stood up beside her her and straightened out his own red shirt and black dress pants, then walking over to Lunamaria's dresser, he picked up her brush and handing it to her, he said, "Can I assume that you will not be answering my question?"

Taking the brush from his hand, Lunamaria began putting her hair into order saying, "Yes, you can assume that I will not be answering your question. I refuse to think about what is going to happen between Meyrin and my parents. I am going to do my best to put it out of my mind and just focus on enjoying my lunch."

Grinning at her, Shinn said, "That's sounds like a good idea, but if we don't get going soon, we won't be on time,which would mean any chance of having a good lunch will be long gone."

Glancing down at her watch, Lunamaria saw that it was edging onto five o' clock and since dinner was at six, they would have to take every shortcut they knew in order to get to her parents house on the other side of town on time.

Rushing out of their room, Lunamaria called over her shoulder at Shinn, "Shinn, quit dallyingly! If we get their late my father will kill me!"

And with that dire statement ringing through the house, the Asuka family dashed out the door and into their car.

-----

Pulling up to her parents house, Lunamaria gazed up at the white three story mansion that had been her and Meyrin's home while growing up. Stepping out of the car door, she looped her arm through Shinn's and giving Mayu one last warning about keeping Meyrin's secret, she took a deep breath and walked up the gravel walk and the white marble steps to the door of the house.

They were greeted at the door by her father, he was tall and distinguished looking and his silver hair gleamed in the sunlight as he leaned forward to give his daughter and granddaughter a peck on the cheek.

Motioning them into the house, he said, "Is Meyrin coming later, Lunamaria? I don't see her car coming into the lane."

Taking off her jacket, Lunamaria hung it up on the coat rack and speaking over her shoulder, she said, "Meyrin, isn't coming Dad, she had something else planned for today. She sends her love and apologies."

"Hmph, your sister has something planned? Let me guess, she needed to do some work for her new clothing catalogue."

Lunamaria bit down on her tongue to keep from snapping at her, Mother who had made this smart aleck comment.

Turning to face her mother, from whom she had inherited most of her looks, she shot her daughter a look of warning, then said, " Mom, Meyrin is having lunch with some of her friends today. She has really needed a break from work, so I told her to go and have fun. Anyways, I don't know what the problem is Mom, it's not like you can't see her later in the week."

Giving her eldest daughter an annoyed look, Mrs. Hawke turned on her heel and stalked to the drawing room, calling over her shoulder, "The tea is getting cold so hurry up."

Glaring at her mother, Lunamaria quickly followed her, Shinn and Mr.Hawke following after her, and last of all went Mayu, who looked at her grandmother with a look of pure fury on her face.

Sitting down in the living room they shared some light chatter, before Mrs. Hawke started in on Meyrin again."I can't believe that she skipped out on lunch with us, just so she could hang out with her friends. Does that girl never think of her family? I could understand if she was seeing someone. But no, she is far to picky to do something like that! Truly, I have never meet such a worthless girl in my entire life!"

During this rant, Mr. Hawke was nodding in agreement, and Shinn and Lunamaria were biting the insides of their mouths to keep from saying anything that would just make the situation worse.

Mayu on the other hand had reached the end of her patience when it came to her grandparents bad mouthing of her Aunt Meyrin. Jumping to her feet, Mayu began shouting, "That's not true! Aunt Meyrin loves us! And she is not worthless or single! She is dating the King of ORB for your information!"

For a few minutes all that could be heard in the elegant Hawke family drawing room, was the sound of Mayu's ragged breathing as she glared wrathfully down at her grandparents.

They stared at her, eyes rounded in shock, but while the silence was foreboding it was far more relaxing than the words that came to fill it.

"Mayu, what do you mean, Meyrin is dating Athrun Zala?" Mrs. Hawke's voice was low and controlled as she asked this, but her eyes filled with loathing as she spoke Athrun's name.

Seeing the look of hatred that came in to her grandparents eyes, at the mere mention of Athrun, Mayu shot a nervous look over her shoulder at her parents, who had been sitting mute with horror over their daughter's out burst.

But at Mayu's pleading look for help, Lunamaria jumped in to the conversation. "Now Mom, Dad, I know you are not very fond of Athrun, but Meyrin is an adult and capable of making wise decisions about who she wants to date."

"So do you think she is making a wise decision by dating Athrun Zala, Lunamaria?" Her mother asked, giving Lunamaria, a cold and penetrating look.

Swallowing nervously under her mother's gaze, Lunamaria said, "Yes, Mother, I do think Meyrin, is making a wise decision by dating Athrun. But even if I didn't there is any thing I could do about it. And. for that matter there isn't anything you can do about it either."

Her dark gray eyes growing even more flinty at this comment, Mrs Hawke said, "And what makes you think, that I am incapable of doing anything about this situation, Lunamaria?"

Smiling a bit smugly, Lunamaria said, "That's easy Mother, it is a known fact that when it comes to Athrun Zala, Meyrin will do whatever she wants, no matter what her friends and family say."

Seeing that her mother had no reply for this comment, and that her father wasn't going to say anything, Lunamaria straightened her shoulders, and said, " Now, I suggest we stop talking about things that are really none of our business in the first place, and go eat lunch, it's probably ready by now."

At this, Shinn, Mayu, and Mr. Hawke all stood up and began leaving the drawing room. Following after them, Lunamaria gave her mother a look as she continued to sit on the love seat making no motion to follow her family. Gentling her voice, Lunamaria asked, "Are you coming, Mother?"

Turning away from her eldest daughter's gaze, Mrs. Hawke said, "I'll join you in a few minutes, Lunamaria."

Taking a deep breath Lunamaria pushed down her desire to demand that her mother come with them and said a bit curtly, "Very well, Mother."

-----

As soon as she was sure that Lunamaria was out of ear shot, Mrs. Hawke sprang for the phone.

Dialing a number she knew by heart, Mrs. Hawke waited impatiently for the person on the other side to pick up.

A person she knew and trusted as a helpful allie, when it came to making sure that, Meyrin was making the right choices in her life. And by that she meant the choices, that she wanted her youngest daughter to make.

"Hello?" Said, the voice on the other line.

"Cynthia, it's me, Mrs.Hawke. I have a problem that I need your help with." After quickly sketching out what her problem was, Mrs. Hawke waited for a suggestion on how she could fix the situation, a situation that was not what she had wanted to happen at all.

Finally, Cynthia had a suggestion, "Why not set her up with another man? In fact I know one who is honorable, well bred, and very much in love with your daughter already."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Mrs. Hawke sank into a chair and said, "He sounds wonderful, Cynthia, but how am I going to get her to date him?"

For the next half hour, Mrs.Hawke planned out the details for her youngest daughter's next blind date never giving a thought to what she might want or for her family who were quietly eating lunch without her, and wondering just what she was up to.

-----

Meanwhile blissfully unaware that her mother and co-worker were plotting to ruin her life, Meyrin was trying to calm her jumpy nerves, as she waited in the backyard of Athrun's house to meet, his eldest children.

At the sound of her name being called, Meyrin rose to her feet and turned towards the voice calling for her. Seeing, Athrun coming towards her with two blond headed teenagers following behind him, Meyrin took a deep breath and putting on her friendliest smile, she walked over to them.

Pausing in front of them, Meyrin waited for Athrun to introduce them before saying anything.

Putting an arm around each of them, Athrun smiled down at her and said proudly, "Meyrin these are my eldest, Devlin and Kilmeny. Kids, this is my friend, Meyrin Hawke."

Holding out her hand, which they both shook firmly, she said, "Hello, it's a pleasure to met you."

They said hello politely and Meyrin began to feel some of the tension leave her shoulders, that was until she caught the look in their eyes.

She had never seen such a look of resentment in her entire life.

Feeling slightly uneasy, she looked up at Athrun, but seeing that he hadn't noticed the look in his children's' eyes, she pushed her uneasiness to the back of mind and asked in a voice as chipper as she could make it, "So when do we eat?"

------

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Please review.

Thank you to: moonpower02, ivy, Slightly Sinister Sinestra, D.Torres, ritachi, Warp Ligia Obscura, Anacondaq-chan, Gauri92, reviewing. All of your comments were very encouraging and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

God bless you, Jesus loves you,

EzrathenNehemiah When Jesus spoke again to the people He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12


	16. Chapter 16

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

The sound of a child's happy giggle caused Meyrin's question to go unanswered as the little group turned to see where the sound was coming from.

Meyrin was both relived and terrified when she saw Jimmy's small figure running towards them from around the other side of the house.And when she saw that Lacus was not with him, her fear over what he might say grew to the point that when Jimmy had finally reached them, she was tempted to flee on the spot.

Somehow she managed to gather up enough courage to stand still and even smile when he came to a stop in front of them.

Jimmy gave her a cheerful grin and then holding his arm's up, he looked at his father and said,"Will you carry me, Daddy?"

Athrun gave Meyrin a puzzled look after observing the friendly smile his normally reserved around strangers youngest had given her and then bending down to pick up his son, he said in a confused tone, "Okay, am I missing something here?"

Meyrin could feel her cheeks reddening at this question, her mind running a slide show of the stupid things she had said to Jimmy causing her tongue to latch itself to the roof of her mouth, which meant all she could do was watch helplessly as Jimmy answered his father's question.

"What do you mean by missing something, Daddy?"

Meyrin couldn't hold back a burst of near hysterical laughter as she watched Jimmy look at Athrun with non-comprehending eyes.

Too late, she realized that laughing was the worse thing she could have done, as she noted that the twins were now glaring at her with open hatred in their eyes.

Putting a hand over her mouth in hopes of stifling her nervous giggles, Meyrin shot Athrun an apologetic look.

Observing her bizarre reaction, Athrun raised one eyebrow in a look of suspicious bewilderment, but instead of saying anything to her, he turned his attention back to his son and with a look of comprehension dawning on his face, he said, "Jimmy, what did you and Meyrin talk about when you opened the door for her?"

Jimmy's face grew pale at this question and with a tremble in his voice, he said, "Aunt Lacus said not to tell you, Daddy."

His face and voice gentling at the obvious fear on his son's face, Athrun hugged him close and said,"Alright,since Aunt Lacus asked you not to tell me, you don't have to tell me.But..."

And here Athrun shifted Jimmy in his arms so that he could more easily see his face, "You do have to give me a hug in return for me allowing you to keep a secret from me that I so desperately want to know."

Athrun's eyes sparkled with love and mischief as Jimmy let out a happy squeal and threw his arms about Athrun's neck in a big hug while saying loudly, "Thank you, Daddy!"

Meyrin's heart warmed at this sight of Athrun's tender touch when it came to the care of his youngest child.

For even though she would never have admitted it even to herself, Meyrin had harbored a secret fear that Athrun's relationship with Jimmy would be a tad strained since Cagalli had died giving birth to him.

As the warm feelings of relief filled her heart, the tension over the twins obvious dislike of her and the worry over what Jimmy might tell Athrun began to drift away.

This feeling of peacefulness was soon shattered once again by none other than Jimmy.

His eyes filled with delight over his father's understanding, Jimmy's childish mind still persisted in thinking that it was not right for him to keep secrets from his father. But he knew for a fact that it was wrong to break a promise, yet at the same time he still wanted his father to know what he and Meyrin had been talking about. And being the clever little boy that he was, his mind soon landed on what he believed was the perfect solution to his problem.

And like any normal three year old would, he immediately blurted out what that solution was.

"Daddy, why don't you ask Meyrin about it?"

At these words, Athrun gave Meyrin a teasing glance out of the corner of his eye and to his surprise, he found that she had closed her eyes together tightly and was standing in such a way that it looked like she was preparing for a physical blow.

But even more disturbing that this weird reaction to what he had believed would just be a slightly embarrassing conversation, were the looks of cruel enjoyment on the twins face over Meyrin's obvious discomfort.

Before he had a chance to address either problem though, Kira appeared before the group, two sets of car keys in jingling in his hand.

Waving the in front of Athrun's face, Kira smiled cheerfully appearing to be oblivious to the tension running through the group of people before him.

Jangling the keys once again this time even closer to Athrun's face which caused Athrun to give Kira a annoyed look and Jimmy to grab his father's car keys from his uncle, Kira, his smile still firmly even place even though by now Athrun's look was anything but cheery, said,"Lacus has all the food and blankets in the cars. All that left now is to figure out who is riding with who."

Rolling his eyes, Athrun took his car keys from Jimmy and said,"If it's all right with Meyrin, I'll take Devlin, Kilmeny, and Jimmy in my car and she can go with you guys."

Meyrin smiled a little sadly at this for even though she dreaded having to tell him what the conversation she and Jimmy had had was about, she still wanted to spend as much time with him as she could.

Especially since the looks the twins had been giving her made her pretty sure that the time she spent with Athrun would probably end with this date.

At least if they had anything to say about it.

But like usual she could not bring herself to admit that she wanted to be with him and instead just nodded dumbly in approval of Athrun's plan.

Kira on the other hand did not.

Raising an eyebrow, he gave Athrun a look that clearly said, 'You are an idiot.', and then in a sarcastic tone he said, "No, that is not all right, Athrun. Meyrin is your date, remember? And I know it has been a long time since you last dated anyone but asking the person you are seeing to drive with your friends instead of you is still considered rude. And in my opinion just a tad thoughtless."

Athrun's cheeks colored a little at this rant from Kira and the twins who had been listening on, let out sighs of frustration, and finally removed their black looks from where they had been focused on Meyrin and switched them over to their Uncle, who merely looked at them and said with a unimpressed look on his face said,"Devlin, Kilmeny, you better change those looks on your face pretty quick. After all if they stick like that I will have to figure out a way to get them to unstuck."

Hearing a slight threat in that statement the twins quickly looked at each other and remembering some of their Mother's stories about how their Uncle Kira had no problem slapping someone, they quickly straightened their faces into a more bland expression.

Athrun gave Kira an impressed and grateful look after noting the change with his two eldest and then casting a sheepish look at Meyrin, who was twisting her fingers together nervously as she watched yet another family drama unfold in front of her, said,"You are absolutely right, Kira."

Then setting Jimmy down, hoping the circulation that he had lost in his hands from holding him so long would return quickly, he walked over to Meyrin and smiling sweetly down at her said in a voice only she could hear,"Meyrin, will you forgive my thoughtlessness and accompany me in my car to the beach?"

Flushing a deep pink over how courtly and handsome Athrun appeared as he asked this, Meyrin could only manage to squeak out a soft,"Yes." as her senses were to over come by the rush of attraction and affection that ran through her body to say anything more.

Athrun smiled gently at her and grasping one of her cold hands in his own said,"Thank you, Meyrin."

Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, he dropped it and turning back to Kira said,"Ok, Meyrin and Jimmy will ride with me, Devlin can also come with me and the two girls can ride with you and Lacus."

Kira shook his no and said,"That won't work. Alice insists on riding with Meyrin."

Blinking in surprise, Athrun asked bluntly,"Why?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Kira said in a tone of resigned helplessness, "I have no idea, but Lacus doesn't have a problem with it, so I said if it was okay with you, she could go in your car and the twins could come with me and Lacus."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Athrun bit back both the sigh and frustrated words that flew to his lips over what Mwu had labeled, 'Kira's random acts of denseness'.Letting out a deep breath, Athrun said in a tightly controlled voice,"Kira, if you knew this already, why did you ask me about the seating arrangements?"

Kira blinked his large purple eyes at Athrun blankly, before saying in a voice that said the answer should have been obvious,"Because I wanted to know if it was okay that Alice rode with you of course."

Unable to keep the amazement he felt over his friend's lapse into complete idiocy off his face, Athrun asked in a strained tone,"Then why didn't you just ask me that, Kira?"

Flushing slightly, Kira said in a embarrassed and irritated voice,"Cut me some slack okay? I've had a rough week."

At this both Athrun and Meyrin, who had been listening on to their conversation, broke out laughing.

Giving them a dirty look, Kira motioned for the twins to join him as he began making his way down to the parking lot.

After getting his laughter under control, Athrun after picking up Jimmy once more, turned to Meyrin whose giggles had also passed and waving his car keys towards the driveway, he said,"Shall we go?"

Meyrin, her eyes dancing with merriment placed a hand on his less full of Jimmy arm and in a fake british accent said,"Lead on kind, sir."

Laughing over her silliness, Athrun lead the way to his car, unaware that his actions made his youngest son's hopes of Meyrin becoming his new mommy sky rocket, along with his determination to have her as his mommy very soon, regardless of Aunt Lacus's cautions to just let nature take it's course.

---

Author's notes: I hope you like this chapter.Thank you for reading! Please review.

Thank you to: Anacondaq-chan,D.Torres,ritachi,wxo-0I0-oxw, Warp Ligia Obscura,Slightly Sinister Sinestra,moonpower02,Rising Dragon, Alexandria Scherazade, for reviewing. All of your comments were very encouraging.

Anacondaq-chan, I am glad you like Mayu. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

D.Torres, I am sorry to have disappointed you with what Mrs.Hawke planned. I hope you enjoy this chapter though. I have not seen Final Phase yet, but I did see screen shots for it. I loved the ending.

ritachi, Thank you for the wonderful comments.I also think it is a shame that so few people let Athrun and Meyrin be together.

wxo-0I0-oxw, I am glad you liked the chapter.And thank you for the comments about my grammar. It is not my strong suit so any help is always appreciated.

Warp Ligia Obscura, Thank you for your comments.I hope you like this chapter.

Slightly Sinister Sinestra, Thank you for the review. Yes, this is getting rather tangled up isn't it?

moonpower02, Thank you for the comments.I hope you like this chapter.And where the story is going.

Rising Dragon, Thank you! I hope you like this chapter.

Alexandria Scherazade, Thank you for the review. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

God bless you, Jesus loves you,

EzrathenNehemiah I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.John 10:9


	17. Chapter 17

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

Alice shifted from foot to foot, her face showing her impatience plainly. Looking up the hill at her, Uncle Athrun laughing at something his date had said, Alice could feel her eagerness to meet the woman who might just become her new aunt grow.

As they neared her, she could feel her lips curling up into a wide grin at the sight of her Uncle's normally somber face lit up from joy.

Walking up to them, she reached out to take Jimmy from Athrun's arms. Athrun gave her a grateful smile as he handed Jimmy over to her, casting her cheerful grin on her cousin for a quick second, Alice quickly turned it back to the pretty woman who was looking at her with wide eyes.

Her voice warming with welcome, Alice said,"Hello, I'm Alice Yamato, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Meyrin stared at the beautiful young woman before her and with out thinking about how it who sound blurted out,"Wow! I never thought I would meet someone prettier than your mother!"

Meyrin's cheeks flushed a deep red as the comprehension that she had just stuck her foot in her mouth yet again, and in front of Athrun this time no less, came to light in her head.Waving her hand in front of her as if trying to erase any sign of the rather awkward compliment she had just given Alice, Meyrin said,"I am sorry, that was so rude of me to blurt that out like that."

Alice gave a light and airy laugh at this and shaking her head, causing her light purple hair to dance around her shoulders, she said,"That's all right, Miss Hawke. After all, all you did was give me a compliment."

Meyrin let out a relieved breath at the girl's obvious lack of offense, and then as a thought occurred to her, gave Alice a curious look and asked,"How do you know my name?"

Giggling Alice spun around and began heading towards the car waiting for them in the driveway, when Meyrin and Athrun had caught up to her, she said in answer to Meyrin's question,"Why, did Uncle Athrun not tell you what a group of old gossips this family is? Or about you being the juiciest piece we have had to talk about in a long time?"

Casting a glance at his mischievous niece, Athrun called to her in a mock serious voice, through the car where he was busy checking Jimmy's car seat, "Now Alice, don't go telling Meyrin all about our family's dirty habits. She might not want to come and visit us again if you do."

Looking at Meyrin who was busy trying to hide her growing grin behind her hand, Alice asked in a teasing voice,"Is that true, Miss Hawke? Will our bad habits make you run?"

Meyrin opened her mouth a flippant answer poised on the tip of her tongue, but as she looked into Alice's dark purple eyes, she noticed that while Alice had asked the question in a jesting manner, she had meant it seriously.

Meyrin carefully closed her mouth after realizing this and taking a moment to think through her answer she replied,"No, your dirty secrets won't make me run away."

At the sight of Alice's smile becoming even wider and brighter if that was humanly possible, Meyrin was happy to note that she had answered at least one question right today.

This observation was confirmed when Alice called over her shoulder to her uncle,"I like her, Uncle Athrun.So do us all a favor and don't screw this up!"

At this blunt comment, Athrun's head jerked upwards and slammed into the top of the car, rubbing his now aching scalp, he gave his niece a dirty look and said,"Real subtle, Alice, could you do me a favor and just get in the car. Without any more words of wisdom and advice?"

Giving him a cheeky grin, Alice did as Athrun had requested and slipped into the back of the car, slipping Jimmy in to his car seat before slipping on her own seatbelt.

But once she was in the car she promptly stuck her head out the window and said to Meyrin who was about to open her own car door,"You just stay right there, Miss Hawke, Uncle Athrun will be around to open your car door for you in just a second."

Seeing that Athrun truly was coming around the car to open her door for her, Meyrin waited patiently for him while trying not to break into giggles at the sound of his dire muttering about flighty nieces.

Pulling the door open for her, Athrun gave her a weary smile and whispered in her ear,"Sorry about my niece, I think she has taken leave of her senses today."

Letting out a muffled giggle at the look of extreme annoyance on Athrun's face, Meyrin whispered back, "Don't worry, my niece is like that normally."

Shaking his head at this, Athrun gently closed the car door and going around to the driver side, he climbed in to the car and starting it up proceed down the road.

It wasn't until they were half way to the beach that somebody spoke.

"Why haven't you gotten married, Miss Hawke?"Alice asked in a careful tone.

Jerking his eyes off the road and onto the rear view mirror, Athrun stared at his niece in horror, but before he was able to tell her to apologize and mind her own business, Meyrin answered the question.

"I suppose because I never really wanted to,Alice."

Eyes lighting up at this answer, Alice searched her mind for a way to phrase her next overly curious question when her now drowsy with sleep cousin, said something that made Meyrin turn red from the tips of her ears and on downwards.

"But you said you wanted to get married now, Meyrin."

Athrun almost ran them off the road at this innocent observation from his son, but luckily he was able to bring the car back under his control before anybody noticed that it wasn't.

Of course the reason the other passengers didn't notice his slip up, might have had to do with the fact that his niece kept asking Meyrin if she had really said that, Jimmy had fallen asleep and Meyrin was trying to hide herself in the crack between the top and the bottom of her car seat.

Giving Meyrin a compassionate look Athrun shoved down his own desire to know whether or not Meyrin had really said that and if she had why did she now want to get married, and said to his practically bouncing up and down with excitement niece, "Alice leave her alone or I am going to turn this car around and drop you off at the house."

Athrun noted that Alice immediately settled down and wished wryly that his own children would obey him half as well.

And Meyrin noted thankfully that nothing else was said for the rest of the car trip.

----

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review.

To: Alexandria Scherazade thank you for your suggestion. It gave me an idea for the car trip. Hope you enjoy it.

To:D.Torres, Sorry about putting words in your mouth. I am glad you are enjoying the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Thank you to:Alexandria Scherazade, D.Torres, ritachi, Slightly Sinister Sinestra, Shimmering Rose Petals, Warp Ligia Obscura, Rising Dragon, moonpower02, for reviewing. I really enjoyed all of your comments. And they were very helpful too.

God bless you, Jesus loves you,

EzrathenNehemiah I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. John 10:11


	18. Chapter 18

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

"Are you sure we should do this, Devlin?"

Turning to look into his sister's worried golden eyes, Devlin gave a confident nod and said,"Yeah, I'm sure, and so were you a few minutes ago. Please don't tell me that Uncle Kira and Aunt Lacus's little speech in the car has turned you into a Meyrin fan."

Stiffening with anger at this snide comment, Kilmeny gave her brother a cold look and said in a angry tone,"No! I just don't want to do anything to hurt, Dad.And..." Here Kilmeny's shoulders slump in depression as the image of her father's sad eyes passed before her eyes." I'm afraid we might if we continue with our plan."

Shifting the picnic blanket he was carrying over to his other arm, Devlin slung his now free left arm around his sister's shoulders and giving her a tight squeeze said in a gentle voice,"We're not going to hurt Dad, Kilmeny. We're just going to remind him of what he seems to have forgotten."

Nodding, Kilmeny let her brother's confidence in their plan sweep away her reservations and with a mischievous grin shrugged off his arm and dart down the beach calling over her shoulder to him,"Bet you can't reach the picnic site before me!"

And her challenge having been issued, Kilmeny picked up her speed as she raced down the beach in front of her brother.

Letting out a shout of protest as sand flew into his eyes from his sister's feet, Devlin took off in hot pursuit of his sister, the picnic blanket flopping around in his arms as he tried to overtake her.

Just as the picnic site came into view, Kilmeny stumble to a stop falling to her knees in the sand her eyes glued to the picnic site.Slowing his pace to keep from falling as his sister had, Devlin raised a hand and shielding his eyes from the sun's glare spotted in the distance the reason Kilmeny had stopped the race so suddenly.

Sitting in the middle of the picnic site was Meyrin Hawke, gently rubbing their sleeping brother's back as she stared out at the ocean.

Letting out a groan, Devlin said with a slight whine in his voice,"What is she doing here? Shouldn't she be drooling all over Dad back at the cars?"

Eyes narrowing as she watched Meyrin, Kilmeny ignored Devlin's questions and in a strangely emotionless tone said,"Lin, could you do me a favor? Could you go back to the cars, I want to talk to Miss Hawke. Alone."

Raising an eyebrow in question, Devlin nonetheless agreed to his sister's request without voicing any of those questions, and handing over the other picnic blanket, he headed back to the cars.

Picking up Devlin's blanket, Kilmeny balanced them in her arms and in a slow shuffle began making her way over to Meyrin.

When she was only a few feet away from her, Kilmeny cleared her throat loudly expecting the older woman to hear her and help with the blankets.

Meyrin didn't turn towards her or acknowledge her at all.

At what she assumed was a deliberate snub from Meyrin, Kilmeny felt the anger and frustration she had been struggling with all day make a break in her wall of control and in a snappish tone she called out,"Hey, are you going to help me here or not!"

Jumping slightly, Meyrin turned around her eyes wide with surprise. Seeing Kilmeny standing before her with two heavy looking picnic blankets in her arms and an angry look on her face, Meyrin felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment and after setting the still sleeping Jimmy back into his car seat, she ran to up to Kilmeny and proceed to take one of the blankets from her.

Smiling nervously at the still glaring girl, Meyrin said softly,"I'm sorry about not helping you more quickly. I know it's no excuse but I was a tad distracted by... by..."

Meyrin's voice drifted to a stop as she realized that telling Kilmeny that she had been worrying about Athrun figuring out that when she had talked to Jimmy about wanting to get married, she had been talking about marrying him! But as she looked into Kilmeny's irritated features, Meyrin came to the conclusion that changing the subject would probably be the best course of action to take.

And so with a nervous giggle, Meyrin lifted the green and white checked blanket in her arms and said,"Umm, Kilmeny where should I put this?"

---

Kilmeny raised an eyebrow at this, in her opinion, idiotic question. Then with a falsely sweet smile, she pointed to a empty space in the middle of the six rocks and said,"Right, there Miss Hawke."

Smiling a sad smile over the obvious disdain in Kilmeny's voice, Meyrin moved over to the patch of sand Kilmeny had pointed to a began setting up the blanket.

As she was putting the first corner under the top right stone the wind blowing off the ocean began catching the rest of the blanket and causing it billow out behind her. But since she had a firm grasp on it it caused her little trouble.

On the other hand, not knowing what to say to the teenager behind her was causing her a great deal of mental distress.

'Maybe I should try talking to her. But what would I talk to her about? School? Her friends? How her training as one of the countries leaders is going?'

Staring down at her hands, Meyrin shook her head and muttered to herself,"Good grief, I really don't know how to talk to strange teenagers do I?"

Sticking another corner under the top left stone, Meyrin began walking slowly backwards. Turning to make sure she wasn't swerving over to Kilmeny's side of the marked off area, Meyrin caught sight of the girl struggling with both the blanket and her hair.

Watching Kilmeny's expression for a moment, Meyrin could tell that the young woman was swiftly losing what was left of her control over her temper, and knowing that Athrun was hoping for every one to enjoy themselves today, she quickly stuff the last two corners of her blanket under the rocks and moved to help Kilmeny.

Coming to stand behind the girl, Meyrin cleared her throat noisily and said in a kind voice,"Kilmeny, could I help?"

Spinning around Kilmeny spat out a strand of hair and said angrily,"Look, just because I am having a problem with the blanket doesn't mean that I am helpless. It's just that my hair is flying into my face because of the wind and I can't tell what I am doing because of that!"

To Kilmeny's amazement instead of shouting back at her, Meyrin smiled at her and said cheerfully,"I thought that might be the problem! Would it be alright if I did something with your hair that would hopefully solve that problem?"

Giving her a curious look, Kilmeny said cautiously,"What do you want to do to it?"

Smiling at the almost fearful look in Kilmeny's eyes, Meyrin held up a small hair rubber band and said,"I want to braid it. If that's all right with you."

Looking into Meyrin's kind gray eyes a reluctant smile curved Kilmeny's lips and in a far less hostile tone said,"All right, but I warn you my hair doesn't like to be bound."

Looking at Kilmeny's thick honey blond mane, Meyrin's smile widened and said,"Perhaps it just takes after it's owner?"

Kilmeny's eyes widened in surprise at this teasing comment. But just as she was about to make a smartaleck comment she noticed the nervous look that had replaced the teasing one on Meyrin's face, and seeing it she felt an odd desire to reassure the older woman, so with a laugh she said,"Yeah, that's probably it."

And when her comment was rewarded by a small giggle, she couldn't help but feel a bit proud that she had been able to calm Meyrin's fears.

But as she turned her back to Meyrin and felt her gentle fingers running through and parting her hair, Kilmeny couldn't help but be confused by her sudden desire to help Meyrin feel more at ease.

Pondering on these new and unwelcome feelings, Kilmeny remembered something that her mother had once said when she had brought home a sick and abandoned puppy,"Honestly, Kilmeny, you are just like your father and uncle,always wanting to take in and protect the unwanted strays of the world."

Smiling to herself at this bittersweet memory, bittersweet since they had in the end had to put down the puppy, sweet because it reminded her of how her mother had once told her she loved her ability to always be kind to others,Kilmeny gave Meyrin who was wrapping the end of her hair with the rubber band, a speculative look and thought,'Maybe I should give her a chance. She seems awfully nice and Daddy does like her a lot.Plus,I have the feeling Mom would have wanted me to.'

With that thought in mind Kilmeny decided to give her Dad's new girlfriend a shot, and so with a shy smiled she turned to face Meyrin and in a friendly tone asked,if she would be willing to help her set up the blanket.

Meyrin's eyes glowed with happiness as she said yes and for the last few minutes before the others arrived her and Kilmeny happily bonded as they chatted about hair and other girlish things.

Quite unaware of the young man watching them hatefully from farther down the beach.

-----

Devlin's eyes narrowed as he walked up the beach with the rest of his family. Seeing that his sister was happily talking with Meyrin, his lips tightened in an angry frown.

But knowing that his actions would be questioned if he suddenly took off, he reined in his desire to run down to her and shake her until she regained his senses.

Instead he just carefully waited through an hour of endless small talk about what Meyrin did for a living and other such nonsense until an opportunity for him to set his plan in motion opened up.

And to his amusement, it wasn't his turncoat sister who gave him the opening he needed but the little whore herself.

----

Laughing softly at the third horror story Kilmeny shared of her latest year at school, Meyrin felt more at ease than she had in almost a month.

Kilmeny had become much more friendly and open since she had braided her hair and because of this the conversation at the picnic lunch, instead of being stilted and uncomfortable as she had worried it might have been was free and easy with everyone joining in with various comments ranging from amusing to intelligent.

Well, everyone but Devlin. He had been sullenly quiet during the whole meal, but Meyrin wasn't about to let that get to her and instead asked him a question hoping it would bring him out of his shell.

Turning to the young man who was quietly eating potato chips next to his sister on the far corner of the blankets, Meyrin asked in a cheerful voice,"This has been a wonderful picnic Devlin, does your family have them often?"

At this question, Lacus, Kira and Athrun who had been happily chatting a way about ORB politics suddenly fell strangely silent and Athrun turning to Meyrin with a sad but sweet look on his face, was about answer her question.

When Devlin beat him to the punch.

"Our mother Cagalli, started this tradition when Kilmeny and I were only three years old, Miss Hawke. We have been having picnics on this day ever since. Best as I can remember we've never missed having one in thirteen years.Isn't that right, Dad?" Devlin's voice and manner was very sweet as he said this deceptively so.

Meyrin, quite unaware of the trap Devlin was setting for his father with that last question,was about to mention how wonderful it was that they had such a lovely tradition to remember their mother by, when the look on Athrun's face made the words freeze on her lips.

His eyes had turned a dark murky green and his smile was joyless one as he answered his son's question,"No, we missed one year remember, Lin?"

Devlin's face was confused for a moment and then a mask of grief slid on to it,"Oh, that's right. We didn't have one the year Mom died. How could I have forgotten that?"

As he said this his eyes gazed into his father's an accusing and hurt look dwelling in their golden depths as he repeated his question in a voice that was as cold as ice,"How could I have forgotten that, Father?"

Athrun physically flinched under his son's hostile and unforgiving gaze, but before he was able to say anything in his defense, Kilmeny jumped in,"You don't have to say it like that, Devlin!"

Turning his cold gaze to his sister, Devlin hissed,"Don't have to say it like what Kilmeny? Like he's forgotten, Mom? You know he has! If he hadn't he would still talk about her! But no all he talks about is his work and _Meyrin_, precious, precious Meyrin!I mean honestly, Meny, he even invited her to our _private_ family picnic! It's obvious he doesn't care about Mom anymore!"

At these hard words a strangled cry came out of Athrun's mouth and leaping to his feet he cried out,"That's not true, Devlin! I could never forget your, Mother.I.."

And here his voice dropped off becoming lower and more broken sounding,"I love her far to much to ever forget her."

Sitting there now quite forgotten by everyone on her little patch of blanket, Meyrin watched helplessly as the man she cared so much for became lost in his grief.

And as she stared at him the sinking feeling she had felt earlier that day returned along with another feeling. A feeling of resolve.

Minutes after Athrun's and Devlin's outburst, Kira quietly suggested they pack up and call it a day.

Everyone agreed.

It wasn't until another half hour had passed during which Meyrin quietly sat in the living room staring at the family portrait she had noticed earlier, that she had the chance to talk to Athrun alone.

----

Slumping onto the sofa besides her, he stared blankly at the portrait as he said in a tired voice,"I'm sorry you had to see that Meyrin. I don't know what got into us back there. I assure you it won't happen again."

When his quiet but heartfelt apology was meet with no answer, Athrun raised turned and looked at the woman sitting beside him, the woman who he knew was slowly but surely falling in love with.

She wasn't looking at him. Instead she was staring blankly at his family's portrait.

Confused by this action he asked softly,"Meyrin?"

"You can't love me like that can you?"

Startled by the suddenness of her question not to mention the oddness of it, Athrun could only manage to stutter out,"W-what?"

Meyrin finally turned to face him at this question.

Athrun couldn't stop himself from drawing back in shock at the lifelessness in her eyes. But when he reached out to touch her, she leaped away fro his touch and came to a stop by the door leading to the backyard.

Staring down at her shoes she said in a voice thick with unshed tears and pain,"I can't see you again, Athrun. I- I thought I could do this, I thought I was strong enough but I'm not, I'm just not."

And then she was gone, the door swinging open behind her.

Athrun didn't go after her.

-----

Author's notes: I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reading. Please review.

Thank you to:ritachi, D.Torres, Shimmering Rose Petals,Rising Dragon, Slightly Sinister Sinestra,Warp Ligia Obscura, NoshMono, for reviewing. They meant a lot to me and they were very encouraging. Thank you.

God bless you,

EzrathenNehemiah Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25


	19. Chapter 19

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

----

Alice stifled the groan that threaten to escape her lips as she struggled to block out her cousins less than quiet bickering, as she did her best to focus on the driveway beneath her and in particular Meyrin's sporty rental car.

She was watching Meyrin's car because she knew that it would hold the key as to whether or not her cousin Devlin's words had caused a serious problem between her uncle and Meyrin, or if it had only made a slight ripple in the blossoming relationship.

Either way, she would know which scenario it was in the next ten minutes, for if the next ten minutes passed and Meyrin didn't appear,that would mean that she and Uncle Athrun were all right.

On the other hand if she did come out to her car and got into her car in the next ten minutes that would mean serious harm had been done and that she would have to wring Devlin's neck.

Just as she was pondering how exactly she would have to go about holding down her stronger cousin's arms in order to wring his neck, the thing she hadn't wanted to see happen happened.

Meyrin dashed across the yard and into her car not pausing once to look around to see whether or not some one was following her. Though to Alice's growing displeasure no one was following her, and as she took in these facts along with the tears that were streaming down Meyrin's face as she wrestled to get her car door open, her ears decided to let her in on what exactly her cousin Devlin was saying to his sister.

"I was not wrong in my actions and you know it Kilmeny! Or at least you did until you decided to chicken out and play nice-nice with Dad's new bimbo. Why did you do that anyways? Don't tell me you were actually afraid of getting in trouble with the Yamatos? I mean really like they would actually have the nerve to punish their future leaders, even if we are their relatives."

Devlin's sarcastic and cocky remarks, along with the memories of all the times she had found her uncle crying at Aunt Cagalli's grave and her despair that he might never be happy again, joined with her dashed hopes of Meyrin and Athrun finding that lost happiness with each other and cause Alice's

temper to reach the boiling point and beyond.

She barely realized what she was doing as she marched over to the bed that Devlin and Kilmeny were sitting on and grabbed Devlin by his shirt collar, pulled back her fist and popped him one right in the eye before he was able to make a move.

The impact of her punch wrenched him out of her hand and across the bed.

But even as her lungs heaved with adrenaline, Alice's wrath was still not quench which is why she jumped onto the bed after him and started wildly slapping what ever part of him she could lay a hand on, all the while crying out, "She left! She left and it's all your stupid selfish fault! Now Uncle Athrun will never

be able to be happy and Jimmy will never have a Mommy and every one is going to be just as unhappy as they were before Uncle Athrun decided to stop acting like he had died with Aunt Cagalli and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Alice was in such a temper that she didn't notice the sounds of the door opening or feel the pain of the punches that Devlin had landed on her in a vain attempt to get her off him, until her father's arms were around her waist and he was lifting her off the bed, screaming to be heard over her own now hoarse cries,"Alice, calm down! Alice, that's enough!"

For a moment it seemed to everyone else in the room that Alice hadn't heard her father but then she fell limp in his arms and as his hold on her relaxed, she twisted around and began to cry, mumbling into his chest, "Why did he have to do that? Why couldn't he have let us become happy again? Why couldn't he let himself become happy again?"

Kira held his daughter as she cried and as he made soft and soothing sounds he look at the other two teenagers in the room. Kilmeny was sitting on a corner of her bed bawling her eyes out along with Alice and Devlin was just sitting motionless on his sister's bed staring blankly at her bright green coverlet.

Sighing softly, Kira said,"Kilmeny, sweetie come here, Devlin go wash your face and then go to the living room. Your father wants to speak to you."

Kilmeny immediately jumped off the bed and into her uncle's waiting arm and Devlin just nodded shortly and headed out of the room. Just before he left, Alice called out in a timid voice,"I'm sorry, Devlin."

Devlin turned to look at her and with eyes that seemed to Kira horribly lifeless said,"It's okay, Alice,I deserved it."

Alice smiled tearfully at him and said in a small voice, "No you didn't."

Devlin just gave her a rueful smile and then headed out the door.

Off to face his father's wrath alone.

-------

Athrun dropped his head back against the couch, his mind restlessly speeding through the last few minutes and what he could have done to make it better, what he could have said to make her not leave. What she had said and what she had really meant and what it was that he would have to do to get her back.

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips as he realized that even though he had just sat mutely while she left, he still didn't want to accept the thought of her never coming back.And as he struggled to figure out why he was so sad over the thought of never seeing Meyrin again if he was still in love with Cagalli, a small sound brought his attention away from himself and on to his eldest son.

Taking in his blackening eye and the scratches and bruises on his face and arms, Athrun let out a gasp of surprise and with concern clear on both his face and in his voice, he said,"Devlin, what happened to you? Have you put ice on that eye?"

Devlin just stared up at his father's face and in that moment as his tired eyes took in his father's open caring and real love for him,the wall he had been holding up for so long broke and in a bitter and broken hearted wail he slammed his fists against his father's chest and yelled,"Why did you let her die? Why didn't you do something? Why.. why did she want to leave us?"

Athrun's eyes flooded with tears as his son who for so long had been holding back his grief finally let it go.

Wrapping his arms around Devlin's shaking form, Athrun led him over to the couch and drawing him against his chest, he ruffled his hair in a soothing manner and said in a voice almost unrecognizable with grief,"Devlin, your mother did not want to leave us, she loved us.And you know that I didn't want her to leave and I promise you that we both did everything possible to keep this from happening to our family. And for a while there we thought we might just have beaten it,but then something happened during her fifth month and after examining her the doctor told us that we might lose both her and Jimmy before she came fully to term."

At this comment Devlin sat up and stared at his father and in a voice husky from tears said,"What? Mom never told us that there was a chance Jimmy might die too."

Giving him a small squeeze, Athrun smiled sadly and said,"She didn't want to cause you kids more worries,so she asked that we just keep that bit of information between us. But oddly enough the fear of losing Jimmy is what kept her fighting all the way to the end. She was determined that if she couldn't save herself that she would at least save his life. And in the end she gave every last bit of her strength to make sure that he would survive and she told me that.. that..."

"That she hated the thought of leaving us, but if she had to she was glad it was in the process of saving one of us."

Turning back to his son, Athrun blinked his tear filled eyes and said,"So she said that to you to, huh?"

Nodding, Devlin roughly wiped away his own tears and in a small voice said,"Yeah, she said that to me and Kilmeny the night before Jimmy was born.And she also asked us to.. to take care of you and him. I promised her that I would but I guess I broke that promise today, didn't I?"

Lifting his son's chin until their eyes met, Athrun said,"I wouldn't say you broke it. More like misunderstood what it was that I needed to be protected from. But now that you mention it, Devlin, I am sorry if you think I have been forgetting your mother and I promise you that we will talk about her as much as you want, and I know you don't like Meyrin, but you still need to apologize to her. She didn't do anything wrong and she didn't deserve to be ambushed with our problems like that."

Staring down at his hands,Devlin said,"Yes, Dad. And I am really sorry for accusing you of forgetting Mom. I just... Do you have to replace her? Can't you be happy with just us?"

Looking down at his son's pleading face, Athrun repeated his son questions to himself and struggled to find answers to them. Then as the memory of a raining night crept over him, he had his answers and taking a deep breath he hoped that his son would be willing to understand him.

"Devlin, I can't replace your mother. There will never be another her and the place she holds in my heart will never belong to anyone else. But in these pass few weeks I have started to feel something for Meyrin, and while I love you guys and I wish for your sake that I could be happy with just us, I can't stop this feeling that is growing inside me for Meyrin. Now before you start freaking out about this,I will say right now that I don't know what's going to happen between us. Or even if she willing to give us another chance. But I do know that I want try again and that I want you to give her a chance if she is also willing to try again. So can you do that for me, Devlin? Can you give Meyrin a chance?"

Staring down at his hands, Devlin tried to block out his father's pleading words and for a moment it seemed that his old resentment would cloud his desire to see his father happy once again. But then as clear as if she was sitting next to him, his mother's voice filled his mind,'Devlin, you are the eldest and as such I know that I can ask of you a heavy favor,I want you to make sure that your father does whatever he needs to do to be happy. And while you may think that his being happy or that any of you being happy is not going to happen with me gone, let me assure you that with time you will be given the chance to be happy again. Now I am not too worried about you and your sister, you are both far to intelligent to let happiness pass you by on the other hand knowing your father,he would probably just stay gloomy and depressed instead of getting off his butt and going after his second chance at happiness. So, I need you to promise me that you will make him go after that second chance.'

Silent tears dripped down Devlin's face as the memory of his mother's bright smile and teasing gaze floated before his eyes, and with a lump in his throat he silently renewed the promise he had made to his mother before saying,"All right, Dad, I'll give Meyrin a second chance if she will give us one."

Athrun's tired face broke into a thankful smile and giving his son another big hug, he pulled him to his feet and said,"Thank you, Devlin.Now,let's go get some ice for that eye."

-----

That night after all the apologizes had been made and the wounds had been bandaged and everyone had finally gone to bed, Athrun flopped down in his office chair and grabbing a small black book from the top of his desk started skimming over his appointments and other obligations to find out when he could actually begin his mission of convincing Meyrin that she had to reconsider giving up on them before they had really begun.

As he made his plans he did his best to ignore the small voice in back of his head that kept asking him, "Are you sure that you can love her as much as you do Cagalli?", and the reason why he refused to answer it was not because he did know the answer but becuse he was almost certain what his answer to the question was.

And nothing terrified him more at that moment than the fact that that answer was yes.

---

Author's Notes: I don't know whether or not I like how this chapter turned out.It had to be written and if I tried to work with it any more I know it would only get worse but still...

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for reading!

Please review!

Thank you to:Slightly Sinister Sinestra, nick2951, D.Torres, animeboy-12, asdf, The-Dark-Spirit182, ritachi, Shimmering Rose Petals, Rising Dragon, Rouge, Dashiell, ely, Alexis. ,and Skyforger for reviewing. They were all very encouraging and helpful.

God bless you,

JLGuyer Jesus answered,"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6


	20. Chapter 20

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

-------

One month later...

"I'm telling you,she's depressed."

Beth Wild rolled her dark brown eyes and giving Daisy a look of disbelief said,"Daisy, you have lost it. She is smiling, she is laughing, she has made more designs and gotten better reviews in the last month than she has in the past six, plus after being dumped instead of sitting around like a lump on a log, she went out and started dating that hot male model Saul Kent. Trust me on this she is not depressed!"

Turning away from where she had been watching her best friend and boss act like a happy human being while chatting with the next two models to go on the runway, Daisy gave her other best friend a patronizing look and in a sickly sweet voice said," Do me a teeny, tiny little favor Beth, think about what you just said and then think about how Meyrin acted after her second engagement was broken off."

Noticing that while Daisy voice was condensing it was also very serious, Beth decided the wisest thing to do was as she asked if for no other reason than to put her foolish fears to rest. But as she quickly compared Meyrin's recent moods and actions to that of how she acted after her rather ugly second engagement had fallen apart, she came to the sad realization that Daisy was correct. Her boss's happiness was nothing more than a show for those greedy eyes that were hoping to see her fall apart.

Muttering under her breath, "Meyrin, you twit!" Beth turned to Daisy and said,"All right, I'm guessing that her recent break up is the reason she is in her' anything to keep myself distracted mode' but do you have anything planned to get her to snap out of it?"

Shaking her head, Daisy shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of helplessness and in a frustrated tone said," I have no idea how to get her to snap out of this.I'm not even sure why she is so depressed! I mean yeah, she recently broke up with someone but they only went out twice! And the only plan I have on how to fix this little,'issue' is to back her into a corner and demand that she tell me what on earth is going on! That is unless you have a better idea?"

Grinning broadly over the growing annoyance in Daisy's previously sympathetic eyes as she watched their boss straighten out the hem of one of the model's about to go out on to the cat walk, Beth said."Nope,sorry, when it comes to break ups and the emotional baggage that comes with them the only suggestion I have is an pan of triple fudge brownies."

Letting out a small chuckle at this, Daisy replied,"Yeah, well marrying the only boyfriend you have ever had can do that to you."

Smiling sheepishly, Beth said,"Do you think it's just the break up that is bothering her or do you think there is something else going on?"

Taking her eyes off of Meyrin, Daisy gave Beth an intrigued look and said,"I think it's just the break up.Why have you noticed something strange going on?"

Fidgeting a little in her seat, Beth said,"Well, I don't like to be a gossip but have you noticed that Luna hasn't been around at all recently?"

Daisy's face crumpled into a pained expression at this bit of info and in an angry tone she said,"That stupid woman!"

Beth moved back a little in surprise at Daisy vehement tone, and said,"I know that Meyrin has been acting strange lately, but isn't that a little harsh? After all I really doubt that it's her fault that her sister has stopped coming to see her."

Letting out a tired sigh, Daisy said, "Well, we don't really know that for sure now do we, Beth? But I wasn't talking about Meyrin anyways. I was talking about Luna. It seems to me like every time Meyrin's life takes a turn for the worse, Luna suddenly becomes far to busy with her own problems to be able to help Meyrin with even one of her's. The little snot."

Using her hand to smother the sound of the fit of laughter that overcame her at Daisy's preschool insult,Beth managed to gasp out,"And how would you know that exactly?"

It was now Daisy's turn to shift in her seat guilty as she admitted,"Oh all right, so I don't know for sure that Luna has always left Meyrin in a ditch when she is having problems but you know as well as I do that it certainly seems like she does when it comes to Meyrin's problems with men."

"True, but there might be some reason behind her avoidance of Meyrin's when her problems are with men."

"Yeah, like Meyrin ran off with one that Luna wanted."

At this comment both women stopped, looked at each other with twitching lips and dancing eyes and quite promptly burst into helpless peals of laughter.

It was during this merry interlude that the topic of their conversation crept up behind them. Standing just outside of their line of sight, Meyrin watched her two friends giggle with an expression of puzzled amusement in her eyes and a half smile on her lips.

Waiting until they had calmed down some, Meyrin asked curiously,"What's so funny?"

Jumping in their seats, Daisy and Beth turned to look at her with twin expressions of guilt and surprise. Studying their red cheeks and taking note of their tongues sudden inability to form words, Meyrin realized that they must have been gossiping about her behind her back.

A rare action for her two best friends and often a sign of their concern over something she had done or had had happen to her.

Sighing inwardly positive that she knew exactly what she had done to cause this little gab fest, Meyrin struggled silently with a strong desire to just ignore their concern and instead change the subject before their concerns could even be brought up.

But the knowledge that her friends were so worried about her that they were actually talking about her behind her back killed that notion before it had the chance to take a second breath.

Grabbing the last chair at the small round table in the back of the theater where her designs were being shown, Meyrin sat down in between her friends and looking them square in the eyes, said,"Ask."

Exchanging confused, yet at the same time guilty glances, Beth and Daisy asked as one,"Ask, what?"

Smiling slightly at their identical expressions, Meyrin replied gently, "Ask me what is going on in my life. Or whatever it is that I've done to worry you."

That gentle statement was all it took to open the flood gates of Daisy and Beth's concerns. The questions came pouring out of them faster then Meyrin could hear them.

"What happened with you and that prince?"

"Why are you dating, Saul?"

"Are you serious about him?"

"Why hasn't Luna been around?"

"Wait a minute, what Prince?"

The last question was directed towards Daisy by a very confused Beth.

Blushing slightly, Daisy said,"Oh, sorry Beth, I thought you knew that Athrun, Meyrin's previous boyfriend is the Prince of ORB."

Turning to Meyrin, her eyes wide with disbelief, Beth said in a horrified tone,"You broke up with a Prince!? Have you lost your mind?!"

Meyrin flushed a deep red at this comment and in a highly annoyed tone said,"I didn't go out with him because he was a prince. I wouldn't have cared if he had been a bum! And I broke up with him because I didn't want to be loved less than his dead wife! Is that really so terrible?"

Meyrin's voice which had at first been raised in anger was now so low as to be almost a whisper. Reaching out a gentle hand, Daisy covered Meyrin's hand with her own and squeezing it lightly said,"No honey, that's not to much to ask. I'm guessing he said he couldn't love you like you wanted and that's why you broke up with him?"

Shaking her head, Meyrin stared down at the cold metal table top and said in a carefully emotionless voice,"No, he didn't say he couldn't love me equally. He didn't have to, I could just tell that I would never have a place in his heart like I wanted to have. I will always just be a friend or at best a little sister to him."

Beth and Daisy exchanged helpless looks over Meyrin's head, both of their hearts aching with sympathy for their obviously heart broken friend.

Rubbing her hand in a soothing motion up and down, Meyrin's back, Beth asked in a quiet and totally non-judgmental voice,"Is that why you are dating,Saul? To help yourself get over Athrun?"

Rousing herself for her sorrowful memories, Meyrin gave Beth a look of sad amusement as she said,"I'm not dating, Saul, Beth."

"You're not? Than what is it that you two are doing,Meyrin?" Daisy asked in a bewildered tone.

Giving her a faint smile, Meyrin replied,"Just hanging out while at the same time trying to con my mother into thinking that we are dating."

"Why do you need to make your mother think that you are dating, Saul?" Beth asked confused by this new development in her friend's messy love life.

"So she will stop trying to set me up on blind dates." Meyrin said simply.

"Oh, so she was the one who set you up with Athrun, then?"

At this question, Meyrin, who had been looking more than just a little depressed began to laugh.

Helplessly.

Eyes wide with fear, Beth said in a nervous tone,"Meyrin, what's so funny?"

Still laughing helplessly, Meyrin waved her hand at her two friends in a 'don't worry'motion as she struggled to get her laughter under control.

Leaning back in their chairs while at the same time keeping cautious eyes on her, Beth and Daisy waited for her to get herself together enough to speak.

Finally drawing a shaky breath, Meyrin said in a voice that still trembled from the remnants of her laughter,"I'm sorry. It's just the thought of my mother setting me up with Athrun just struck me as hilarious."

Smiling a strained smile,Daisy asked,"Why?"

"My mother hates Athrun. She blames him for all of my men issues."

Feeling even more curious at this answer, Daisy asked again,"Why?"

In reply Meyrin merely smiled a mysterious smile and said,"Doesn't matter. Anyways, as I was saying I am fake dating Saul to keep my mother from setting me up with more men."

Seeing that they were not going to be getting any more information on Athrun and Meyrin's mother, Beth decided to help Meyrin continue the conversation they had previously started.

"So, if she didn't set you up with Athrun, who did she set you up with?"

Letting out a small laugh, Meyrin said,"Saul."

Shooting her a confused look, Daisy said,"Wait, I thought you didn't want to date anyone your mother set you up with?"

"I don't which is why I am not dating Saul. I'm just letting my mother think that I am, so she won't set me up with anyone else. Does that make any sense?"

By this point in the conversation, Beth had fallen into a fit of helpless giggles over Meyrin's ditzy comment and Daisy was also slowly beginning to lose it as the relief of finally figuring out what was going on in her best friend's life began to make her rummy, but before she lost it she managed to make a little dig at Meyrin as she said,"That was about as clear as mud but I think we got the picture. Right, Beth?"

Still giggling, Beth could only manage to nod her head in agreement.

Smiling happily over her friends' understanding, Meyrin opened her mouth intent on answering the one question that had been tossed to the way side,what was going on between her and Luna, when a voice in her ear piece requested her presence on stage.

Giving them a regretful smile, Meyrin hurried away knowing that it would probably be another week before they had the time to sit and chat with each other again.

----------

Shaking the hand of the last model that had work with her that day, Meyrin let out a sigh of relief as she realized that the runaway show was over at last and she could finally get something to eat.

Grabbing her jacket, Meyrin slipped it on, securing her purse strap on her shoulder as she began making her way through the still messy back stage to the exit door and her car just beyond that.

As she stepped down the concrete stairs leading into the parking lot, a hand reached out and grabbed her elbow.

Letting out a sharp yelp, Meyrin grabbed her purse and lifted it up above her head intent on beating to death whoever it was that was obviously trying to mug her.

But instead of a would be rapist, the face that met her wide from panic eyes lit upon was none other than the handsome face of her fake boyfriend, Saul.

Who was now holding up his hands in a 'I surrender' pose while smirking a bit over her freaked out expression.

Sighing a little, Meyrin gave a tight smile and in a breathless voice said,"Saul, what are you doing here?"

Slipping his arm through her's, Saul gave her a charming smile and in a smooth voice said,"I'm here to take my beautiful and talented girlfriend out to dinner of course."

Shaking her head slightly, Meyrin said in a tired voice,"Fake girlfriend and while it is very nice of you to want to take me to dinner, I would really rather go home. You understand right?"

At her correction, Saul's face had darkened a tad from anger but before she was able to notice this, he smoothed out his expression back into a lightly flirtatious one as he said,"Darling, what kind of couple would we be if we didn't go out after you had one of the most successful shows of your entire season?"

Letting out a groan, Meyrin said in a grumpy tone,"Do you really think anyone is paying such close attention to our private lives that they would notice us not going out tonight?"

Smiling the smug smile that Meyrin had discovered that she loathed with all of heart over the course of the past month, Saul said,"I don't know, darling. Why don't we ask Beth and Daisy, what they think?"

Grimacing, Meyrin realized that Saul had over heard at least a little of her conversation with her friends and that because they had noticed her and Saul's dates, she would be unable to tap dance her way out of this 'date' as she had some of the other dinners and trips Saul had invited her on.

Not that she hated her fake dates with Saul. In actuality other than that smile and his pestering her to go out when she didn't want to, she didn't have that many complaints with him. Their dates were fun and he was always very kind to her.

In fact Meyrin was pretty sure she could fall in love with him.

Well, that is if he got rid of those two annoying habits and suddenly revealed that he was Athrun Zala in disguise, she could.

Slamming her lips over the deep sigh of despair that wanted to escape her lips at this gloomy thought, Meyrin reflected not for the first time, as she trotted to keep up with Saul's long strides, that even pretending to date another guy while still in love with your previous boyfriend was a really cruel thing to do.

Which was why she was finally going to tell Saul that she wanted to stop with the whole charade and just go back to being friends and co-workers.

She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to do about her mother's meddling but she decided she would cross that bridge when she came to it and blissfully ignore it until then.

--------

Taking a deep breath of the slightly stale air of the PLANT, Athrun blew it out with a relieved laugh and turning to Kira, who was walking beside him, said,"Thanks for meeting up with me, Kira. I really need someone to help me plan my next course of action."

Giving him an mock innocent look, Kira, replied in a smooth tone,"I think you should push the meeting with the Congress of South America back another month and move the meeting with the ORB Treasurer up to next week."

Shooting him a glare out of the corner of his eye, Athrun said dryly,"That's not what I meant and you know it,Kira!"

Grinning at the amused yet at the same time annoyed look on his best friend's face, Kira said in a voice breathless from contained laughter,"Yeah, I know. I know. You want my help with Meyrin, right?"

Shaking his head at Kira's teasing, Athrun said,"Are you going to help me or not, Kira?"

Seeing that his friend's good mood was swiftly heading south (as it had steadily been doing for the past few weeks), Kira quickly grew serious and said,"I am guessing you are going to visit her while we are here on her home PLANT?"

Coming to a stop in the middle of the road,Athrun turned to Kira with a distressed look on his face and said,"I want to Kira, but do you really think she will even be willing to talk to me after our last conversation?"

Letting out a self disgusted grunt, Athrun continued to speak, more to himself now than to Kira,"Or should I say our last lack of conversation?"

Dropping his hand onto Athrun's shoulder in a silent gesture of support, Kira said,"I think you should go see her tomorrow, Athrun. And this time tell her what's on your mind and what's in your heart."

Staring down at his feet, Athrun smiled sadly and said,"What if I don't know what's in my heart,Kira?"

Beginning to walk again,Kira said,"Then tell her that, Athrun. But some how I doubt that you don't know what's in your heart,Athrun. I just think that you are afraid to face it."

Making his stride longer to catch up with Kira who was a few steps ahead of him, Athrun walked beside him for a few blocks before, Kira spoke again breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen between them.

"You are going to lose her for good if you don't make a move soon, Athrun. You do realize that don't you?"

Nodding slowly, Athrun opened his mouth preparing to reply to Kira's question when a flash of red in the window of the restaurant they were passing by caught his eye.

Turning his head to get a better look, Athrun felt a sharp dagger of ice cold pain pierce his heart as he took in the sight of the woman he loved laughing and talking with another man.

Jerking his head back around he began to walk swiftly down the street, giving Kira only one response to his calls of,"What's wrong?"

And that response was an emotionless,"Nothing."

------

Tossing the towel behind the door of the bathroom with a quick flick of his wrist, Athrun ran an impatient hand through his still wet hair, while using his other to wipe the mirror clean of the steam his shower had caused and bracing his hands on the sink, stared at himself in the mirror.

His face was pale from the pain of seeing Meyrin with another man and his eyes were flashing with the anger the thought of having lost any chance of being with her.

Leaning forward, Athrun,rested his forehead against the glass and in a harsh tone asked himself,"So Athrun, what are you going to do? Are you going to let Meyrin go or are you going to fight for her?"

As those last two words echoed in his mind a sudden desire to see her gripped him so strongly that he could do nothing else but obey it. Running out of the bathroom, Athrun slipped on his shoes and grabbing his keys and wallet off the hotel room dresser, quickly left the hotel in his rental car.

Turning towards Meyrin's condo, Athrun stared out the window paying little attention to how fast he was driving as he tried to sort out his thoughts enough to figure out what he was going to say to Meyrin, when he finally saw her again.

As the car rolled to a stop outside her door, Athrun had come to the decision as to what he was going to say to her. He was going to follow Kira's advice and tell her was in his heart.

Raising his hand to knock, Athrun took a deep breath to steady himself and rapping twice, waited for her to open the door,rocking back and forth on balls and heels of his feet as he did so.

As the door swung open, Athrun's heart began to race. At the sound of a soft gasp of surprise, Athrun raised his eyes to meet her's and as they did so he felt his heart stop for a moment before it continued on at it's rapid pace.

Her eyes were wide in surprise at the sight of him, her lips parted slightly as she asked in a gentle whisper,"Athrun?"

Taking a step forward, Athrun did what his heart was demanding that he do. He grasped her by the hand and pulling her forward captured her lips in a loving kiss while drawing her into his arms.

After standing there wrapped in each other's arms for neither was sure how long,Athrun pulled away from her just a tad and opened his mouth found that he was still too breathless to say a word.

Meyrin on the other hand gazed up at him with a dazed expression and in a airy voice said,"Your hair's wet."

-------

Author's Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out. I hope you like it. I am sorry to say that the next chapter will probably not be out that quickly either. I recently had a bad case of carpale tunnel and pinch nerves in both my arms. So I can't write as much as I want to any more.

Oh,I am planning on finishing this story in the next few chapters. And I would love to hear from you guys about any parts of the story that I need to write more about.

Thank you!

Thank you to:Rising Dragon, TheDarkSpirit, D.Torres, Skyforger, nick2951, Hottie Star, Blitzz, Slightly Sinister Sinestra, athallier, moonpower02,

akatsukinokuruma, LightningHell for your reviews and comments. They were very encouraging and helpful.

Thank you again for reading. Please review!

God bless you,

JLGuyer Come to Me all _you_ who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 (Holy Bible KJV)


	21. Chapter 21

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of._  
_

_------_

_"Your hair is wet."_

Biting back hysterical laughter, Athrun took a couple of deep breaths as relief flooded his suddenly weak kneed body.

Licking his lips, he said in a voice that trembled with nervous laughter, "Is that all you have to say?"

Blushing slightly, Meyrin ran a hand through her now mussed hair and said,"Um no, but how about we go inside before starting this conversation? I think my neighbors have gotten enough of a show for one night."

Wincing slightly as he realized that he had just made Meyrin the new hot topic of the cul-de-sac that she lived in, Athrun nodded rapidly and said,"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Sorry about..."

Before he was able to finish his apology, Meyrin put a finger against his lips and with a soft smile said,"A word of advice Athrun never apologize for a kiss unless you are slapped immediately afterwards."

Athrun's cheeks had flooded with color the moment her finger had touch the lips that still burned from her kiss but when she said this the blush decided to work it's way to his ears and neck making him look like a ripe tomato and causing Meyrin to burst into a fit of giggles as she turned towards the door.

Going through the still open door of her condo, Meyrin waited in the small entrance way for Athrun to join her before making her way to the cozy living room off to the left of the entrance way.

-------

Sitting down in a pink and yellow floral patterned comfy chair, Meyrin gestured for him to take a sit across from her on the matching love seat.

Easing himself down on the comfortable looking seat, Athrun felt the nerves that had dissipated when Meyrin had teased him about apologizing come back with a vengeance leaving him once again tongue tied and feeling like he needed to escape before he did something impulsive yet again. Something that she might not find as pleasing as he thought/hoped she had found the kiss to be.

While Athrun was trying to figure out a way of escape, Meyrin was trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach so she wouldn't end up losing the clams she had had for dinner on her shoes. This was rather hard to do considering the cause of the butterflies was sitting across from her staring blankly at the wall a look of panic fluttering behind his dark green eyes.

It was this look that caused Meyrin to suck up her own feelings of discomfort and confusion enough to start the conversation they had come in to have.

"Athrun, why are you here?"

Not quite political but at least the lines of communication were now open for business.

Turning a ghastly shade of white, Athrun brought his eyes back onto her face and away from her cream colored wall and in a quiet voice said,"I didn't want to lose you."

Blinking at this unexpected comment from the man who just four short or long depending on how you look at it weeks ago allowed her to walk out of his house and his life with out a word, Meyrin let out a frustrated breath and said,"Athrun, what are you talking about? You let me leave. In most peoples mind that would mean that you didn't want to keep me. And then you didn't say one word to me after that which kind of proved to me that you never really wanted me back in your life in the first place. So please,please tell me what the heck you are talking about because I have been on the merry-go-round to many times and I don't want to get back on it again."

"I didn't know what I wanted on the day you left. At first all I could all I wanted to think about was Cagalli and how much I loved her and how much I had missed her every single day. And yet at the same time another part of my mind was running wild with plans on how to win you back. To make you give us a second chance. It was these conflicting thoughts that led me to actually take a good hard look at my feelings for you and for Cagalli."

As Athrun spoke his voice grew both firmer and fainter as the emotions of that long, dark night of reflection and introspection crashed over him once again but stronger now that he was in the presence of one of the women he loved.

Said woman was staring at him in amazement her violet eyes turning into a dark shade of gray as the emotion with which he spoke tugged and rent at her heart making her fall even more deeper in love with him even as the more cynical and distrusting side of her called her every type of a fool to be sucked back into him so very easily.

But when it came to this man Meyrin had given up on trying to act solely with her head instead of her heart.She was never able to actually carry through with what her head suggested so she might as well listen to the other organ first and get what ever stupid or reckless action it told her to do over with so she could bandage up her wounds all the more quickly instead of drawing out the agony by trying to delay it by listening to her head for however long it took before her heart beat it into submission.

And so skipping straight to the advice of her heart, Meyrin got up from her chair and sat down next to Athrun twining her fingers through his in silent support as he struggled to find the words to tell her what he so desperately wanted her to know.

Jumping slightly as her cool fingers slipped into his warm ones, Athrun stared down at their joined hands marveling once again at how well the fit together and at how very much he wanted to keep hold of that slender hand for the rest of his days.

It was this overwhelming longing that had brought him to her home that evening and it was the same desperate longing and consuming love that he felt for her that loosened his tongue enough for him to turn to face her and say,"I know you have no reason to believe me Meyrin but I love you."

-----

She couldn't breath.

That was all Meyrin could think about as Athrun's confession slammed into her and stole her breath from her body.

Unknowingly tightening her hand around his as she struggled to comprehend what he had just told her, Meyrin opened her mouth and then shut it as she tried to answer him.

Instead of being put off or disheartened by this reaction Athrun merely smiled and rubbed her fingers with his thumb realizing that a confession of love from a man with whom you had only had a few dates would be enough to throw the most confident woman off guard much less a woman with whom you broke up with little over a month ago.

Rubbing her forehead with her other hand,Meyrin finally managed to squeak out,"When... How... I don't know what to say!"

Smiling tenderly, Athrun grasped her other hand in his own and leaning forward until his forehead touched her's waited for her eyes to met his and said," I have no idea when. How is very simple, you are a wonderful woman and any man with a brain and enough nerve to actually ask you out would fall in love with you and don't worry about what to say just tell me whether or not I still have a chance at making you love me in return."

Smiling shyly Meyrin opened her mouth to answer his question but before the words were able to leave her mouth a sudden pounding at the door caused the two lovebirds to jump apart and turn with curious expressions to look at the door.

Getting up off the couch Meyrin gave Athrun a confused look before making her way to the door Athrun just a step behind her.

Peeking out the peep hole, Meyrin turn white as she look at the person standing on her doorstep.Spinning away from the doorway, she gave Athrun a horrified look and said,"It's my mother!"

----

Taking a step back in the face of her panic,Athrun gave the door a confused look and lowering his voice to a whisper for no other reason than it felt like he should said,"What is she doing here? I thought she lived on the other side of the PLANT. Not to mention it's almost one o'clock."

Throwing up her hands, Meyrin let out a growl of frustration and said,"How should I know what she is doing here? All I know is that she is here and that you more than likely will be dead before she leaves!"

Feeling really thrown now, Athrun said,"What do you mean I'll be dead? I've never even met your mother!"

"Oh, that doesn't matter to her! All that matters to her is that you are the man I turned traitor against ZAFT for never minding the fact that the guy leading ZAFT was a nut! If she finds out that I am dating you by finding you in my house this late at night she will be sure to make our lives miserable until we sneak away some where like, oh I don't know where's that place Bugs Bunny was always trying to get to?"

Blinking slightly Athrun muttered,"Bugs Bunny?" in a confused tone before turning back to the matter at hand,"Do you have a back door?"

Pausing in her pacing, Meyrin said with a sigh,"No and even if I did you wouldn't be able to sneak out anyways. Your car is park right next to my stairs."

Grabbing her arm before she was able to start making a hole in her carpet again, Athrun led her back to the door where her mother was yet again knocking, more forcefully this time if the way the door vibrated in the jam was any indication and said,"Then I guess we will just have to face her together than won't we?"

Looking up at him, Meyrin let out a sigh of defeat and said with a pout,"I suppose so. Or we could go hide under my bed until she realizes that she's making a scene and leaves?"

Laughing softly at the hopeful look she gave him as she said this, Athrun replied,"No, I think it would be better if we just get it over with now. Don't you agree?"

Frowning Meyrin marched over to the door and with a grumpy look on her face said,"I suppose so." Then grasping the door knob in her hand, she pasted on a welcoming smile and swung the door open.

The moment it was open her mother was in the house a lecture springing from her lips even as Meyrin tried to greet her.

"Hello Mother, what..."

"Why did you break up with Saul? Do you have any idea how much trouble Cynthia and I went to to set you up with him? I mean for crying out loud I even went along with their silly idea of tricking you into thinking that he was just doing you a favor as a friend by 'pretend' dating you in the hopes that you would finally stop acting like a silly child and settle down with a decent, well breed, wealthy young man who for reasons I can not comprehend actually liked you in spite of your obvious faults. Not the least of which is you being past the child baring age!"

"Mother!"

"Oh, don't 'Mother' me child! What on earth were you thinking? It's not like you are going to find another man who is willing to even consider marrying a woman who has been dumped twice at the altar!"

"I was not dumped twice! I broke up with Teddy, remember? You lecture me about that for days too!"

"Why yes darling, I remember you making the second biggest mistake of your life! I also remember being shocked at discovering that you could still manage disappoint me so completely! And now you have done it yet again! So my dear little girl what are you going to do next? Did you even spare one thought as to what this is going to look like to your peers? They're going to think you just dated him to gain publicity for your fashion shows! "

Taking a step back at this harsh barrage of words, Meyrin crossed her arms across her chest looking down at the floor as she waited for her mother to run out of words.

Seeing that her daughter was not going to try and stand up to her again, Mrs. Hawke allowed a brief smile to slide across her lips before straightening her jacket and opening her mouth to say.

"Enough!"

The words that Mrs. Hawke were planning to say froze on her lips as both she and Meyrin turned to look at the until now forgotten part of their little group.

Coming to stand beside Meyrin, Athrun looked down at Mrs. Hawke and said in a voice as cold as ice,"Hello, Mrs. Hawke. I'm Athrun Zala. And if you don't mind I would like to speak with you for a minute."

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Author's Notes: If you are still reading this you are far more loyal than I deserve. I hope this chapter is enjoyable. I have started on it and stopped and went back to the beginning more times than I can remember. So I am at this point not sure if it even makes sense!(laughs)

Anyways I hope you like it and thank you so very much for reading.

Please review.

Thank you to:Rising Dragon, moonpower02,Slightly Sinister Sinestra,Hottie Star,akatsukinokuruma,:'),GaleBread,Angleico3156789,Anonymous,squeakyL,stardog252,Skyfall v2.0 for reviewing it was very kind of you.

Have a nice day!

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1John 4:16


	22. Chapter 22

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of.

-------

The hallway was silent for a long moment, after Athrun's cold request stopped 's tirade from finishing.

Then breaking the silence Athrun turned to the room just to the left of them, and motioning to the door with extreme politeness said,"If you would follow me, I think we could discuss this more comfortably in here."

Glancing at the room that Athrun was motioning to, Mrs. Hawke sniffed once; and in a voice as polite as his own, replied,"No, I don't think we need to talk Prince Zala; after all you just solved my problem for me."

At Mrs. Hawke's words Athrun felt a thrill of suspicion race up his before he could ask her what she meant by that Meyrin cut in.

"You mean you are happy to see Athrun, Mother?" Meyrin's expression was that of confusion as she spoke to her mother.

Turning to her daughter gave her a falsely sweet smile and said,"Of course I am happy to see him, darling. After all if he is here, it means that he wants to get back together with you. Which means that it will only be a week or so before he remembers why he never chooses you and hopefully you will finally wake up to reality."

With these venomous words, Mrs. Hawke left her daughter's house uncaring of the tears that fell down her daughter's cheeks as she went.

------

Lunamaria had been having a lousy four weeks. Upon hearing that her sister had broken up with Athrun, and had then quite suddenly started dating some brainless male model, she had called up her sister, and told her exactly what she thought of these decisions. That had been the beginning.

During the course of the fight she had promised not to speak to Meyrin, until she wised up and begged Athrun for his forgiveness.( After all she was sure that whatever had happened between them must be Meyrin's fault and that if she would just stop being a pig headed idiot everything would go back to the way it should be.)

The following weeks had shown that this course of action was unlikely to occur leading to the second thing that had made this month horrible. Informing Mayu that her Aunt had behaved like an idiot, and broken up with the guy that she thought was so wonderful.

That had been a less than fun conversation that resulted in Mayu calling her Aunt and saying that she too refused to speak to her, until she stopped being such a stupid head.

Not very thought provoking or original but it showed with out a doubt that she was her daughter. Sadly the end result was the same as her own call had been.

No change in the relationship what so ever. Luna had begun to suspect her mother had secretly preformed an lobotomy on Meyrin without anyone's knowledge.

Then there was Shinn.

Shinn was sweet, kind, quick to call her an idiot, and to tell her to get over herself every time she complained about Meyrin dumping Athrun.

In fact, he seemed to think that Meyrin had made a wise decision by doing so,which aggravated her to no end.

Now at three in the morning on the last day of this horrible month; she was called out of her warm bed by the sound of the telephone;grabbing the receiver, Lunamaria prepared to give whoever was on the receiving end of it the mother of all tongue lashings for pulling her out of her warm bed when an unexpected voice reached her ear.

"Hello, can I speak to Lunamaria? This is Athrun Zala and I really need to talk to her for a moment. Hello, is anyone there?"

Shaking away the feelings of shock and sleepiness that had rendered her mute, Lunamaria said,"Hello, Athrun;it's me Lunamaria. What was it you needed to talk to me about? There isn't anything wrong with your kids is there?"

For a second a soft sigh of relief was all she got in reply. Then Athrun began to speak in a rush relating to her the events of the last couple of hours. "Lunamaria, you have got to come over here. I've tried talking to her, and I've tried holding her; but nothing seems to work. And she just can't keep crying like this. You're her sister you must know what to do to comfort her when she's like this right?"

The hesitancy in Athrun's voice as he posed this question lead Lunamaria to quickly reassure him, and to promise him that she would be down there in a moment,telling him to just sit with Meyrin until she got there.

Once Athrun had promised to do so, Lunamaria hung up the phone and, dashing into her bedroom flicked on the light, heedless of the fact that Shinn was still then began to searched through her closet for something quick to throw on.

-----

Shinn was woken by the bright light and sitting up in bed, his eyes fell upon the sight of his wife as she threw clothes onto the floor sighing under her breath all the while.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he cocked his head to the side and in a weary tone asked,"What is going on Luna? Did one of the cadets steal a mobile suit or something?"

Turning to her husband, Luna gave him a dirty look and said,"ha, ha real funny. No, nothing has happened with the mother has just decided she needs to ruin my little sister's life some more that's all."

Raising an eyebrow at this unexpected development, Shinn asked,"I thought your mother was happy that Meyrin was dating that Saw guy,or whatever his name is."

Snickering slightly at her husband's mispronunciation of Saul's name, Luna began to explain what had happened over at Meyrin's apartment that evening, as she slid out of her pj's and into a track suit.

Running his hand through his hair, Shinn let out a groan and said,"Of all the crazy things to do. Did she actually think pretending to date a guy was going to get her mother off her back? You would think she would realize by now that nothing short of starting her life over at 15 is going to accomplish what the heck is Athrun doing over there anyway? It's the middle of the night what could he possibly have to discuss with her that wouldn't wait until the morning?"

For the first time in a month a true smile crossed Luna's lips during a conversation about Athrun and Meyrin.

Walking over to her husband, Luna bent over until they were eye to eye and then gently tapping him on the nose, she said with undisguised glee. "He's trying to win her back of course! Would you wait until morning to talk to me if you were afraid you were going to lose me to another man?"

Putting his hand to his chin,Shinn rubbed it thoughtfully as if he had to seriously consider the question before answering.

She slapped him on the arm, when he 'thought' about it for just a little to softly Shinn wrapped his arms around her waist and drawing her up against his chest tilted his head up to met her eyes,saying arrogantly. "It's practically impossible for me to even consider such a situation, since I wouldn't have been so stupid as to let another man get near you in the first place."

Laughing at this bold statement, Luna leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his lips and then stepping out of his embrace said,"I've got to go. Let Mayu know where I am, if I'm not home by the times she wakes up okay?"

Nodding in agreement, Shinn got up off the bed and walking down the stairs with her said,"Gotcha. Drive safe and go tell your sister that your mother is a witch and that she shouldn't pay any attention to what she says. After all everyone knows that all witches hate princesses; or potential princesses for that matter."

Lunamaria was still laughing over her husband's comment as she got into the car and headed towards Meyrin's apartment.

-----

At the apartment the occupants were as far from laughter as one could get without being in mourning.

Meyrin was curled up on the couch, soft shallow breaths leaving her every so often as she rubbed her already chapped cheeks for what seemed to Athrun the ten thousandth time.

As for Athrun he was sitting beside her on the couch one hand resting limply on his knee the other gently placed on her calf, lightly stroking it as he searched his thoughts for something to say that could make the pain of her mother's words go away, or at least make them hurt a little less.

When the door had closed behind the hateful woman, Athrun had gathered Meyrin into his arms rubbing her back and promising her that he would never leave her again; and that she shouldn't pay any attention to the horrible things her mother had said.

But when Meyrin had just continued to cry,Athrun had begun to suspect that fear of Mrs. Hawke's foul proclamation coming true was not the cause of her tears. Because of this he had asked a stupid question,the sort of question you would think he would have learned not to ask a weeping woman during his many years of marriage to Cagalli. But sadly, it seems that even after all his experiences when it came to women, Athrun could not help but be ignorant, at least when it came to somethings.

Moving her away from him a little; so that he could see her face more clearly Athrun said in a gentle voice."Meyrin, why are you crying?"

This appeared to be the wrong thing to say; for in reply Meyrin simply cried harder leaving Athrun with no other choice then to call in reinforcements before she completely dehydrated herself.

So he had lead Meyrin back into the living room; settled her on the couch and then snagging her cell phone off of the coffee table, promised her that he would be right back;(not that he was sure she had heard him, her sobs were steadily rising in volume)and had skimmed through her contacts until he had found Lunamaria's number.

Athrun had then given her a frantic run down of the evening and after getting her reassurance that she would be coming to his rescue , had returned to Meyrin hoping to give her comfort. If through no other means than just being a reminder that she wasn't alone.

He had ended up on the couch next to her,and was currently feeling helpless. It was not a feeling that he particularity enjoyed. In fact; he down right despised feeling this way. It was a feeling that had lead to him to do brave and wonderful things, and rash and stupid things as well.

Right now he wasn't sure what his next course of action could be classified as,but he did know that he could no longer bear to do nothing but wait for someone else to save the woman he loved from her misery.

After he made this decision, Athrun shifted his body on the couch, grasped Meyrin's hands with his own and taking a deep breath said....

-----

Author's notes. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and written me about this story. I am sorry that I have not replied but I my brain has been a bit fried when it comes to writing lately so much so that I could barely write letters to anyone much less write the intelligent ones that you all deserved. Oh, and I am trying to work on the grammar so please bare with me as I struggle to remember my childhood lessons. ^_^;;;

Now on to why this chapter is so late. One brain freeze. Two lack of interest in Gundam Seed. I love the characters but with so little about Athrun and Meyrin out there there just hasn't been much to spark story ideas. Three real life has been overwhelming. Between health issues and looking for work I have not been able to that's about it for my excuses. LOL

Thank you to:TheDarkSpirit,GGUNDAMFAN34,Overheat,The Chibi Vampire,takuheaven123123,FlareKnight,Skyfall v2.0, and okami no kidzukare for reviewing. They were very encouraging. ^_^

Thank you again for everything. I hope you enjoyed this very late chapter. Please review.

Have a great day!

JLGuyer

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

(Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)


	23. Chapter 23

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of. And anything else that is recognizable I don't own either.

"Do you think he has gotten in contact with her yet?"

Glancing up from where he had been scrolling through various websites looking for info for his latest essay, Devlin gave his sister a confused look and said,"Who gotten in touch with whom?"

Rolling her eyes at his stupidity, Kilmney replied,"Dad with Meyrin. Remember her? The pretty woman who seemed willing to deal with all of us until you acted like a giant brat?"

Now it was Devlin's turn to give a dirty look which he proceeded to do so along with a cold shoulder unwilling to admit that the idea of his father's recently revived love life still bothered him. Though not as much as the thought that he has ruined it beyond repaired did. Not that he would ever admit that to himself much less anyone else.

But the silent treatment was one his sister was not going to let pass that evening. She was to wound up.

Her uncle had let them know that they had reached the colony that Meyrin's fashion show was currently in and that they would be looking for her later.(Hopefully a task that would be accomplished without the media catching wind of it. Nothing put a cramp in a make up more than a thousand cameras trying to capture it on film.)

But that had been hours ago and there had been no word Kimeny's mind had decided to go into over drive thinking up various things that could be going wrong. (Never right. One can't have that.)

In an effort to stop the cataclysmic flow of disaster that was flooding her mind she had decided to go and bother her brother. And the little twit wasn't complying with her wishes.

This would just not do.

"I think I will text Uncle Kira. Maybe he will have some new news by , maybe I should just call Dad, sneak a question about her in while telling him about how you were drooling all over Clarissa La Flaga today at the park.I'm sure he will be happy to hear that you are finally taking notice of something other than understanding the workings of our country."

Sliding her phone out of her pocket she watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye as she slid the lock up and pushed the icon for text messages. Thus she was able to jump out of the way when he suddenly lunged at her fingers grasping for the phone in her hand.

Letting out a slight shriek of laughter, she dodged him once again and darted out the door, pounding down the hallway him swift footed and silent behind her as she made for the stairs.

Well silent until he started yelling at her that is.

"You can't tell him that! He'll tell Uncle Kira and if Uncle Kira knows Captain La Flaga will know and then her husband will and that will be... be..." Glancing up at him on her way down the stairs, she laughingly called up to him."Will be what? Disastrous to your non love life. I mean really Devlin, have you even talked to her?"

Pausing in his pursuit, Devlin said his cheeks burning red hot,"I've.. I've talked to her. I said hello yesterday. As you well know!"

At this Kilmeny could not help but stop altogether just above the last step turning to look at him in disbelief."Hello. That's it?! Oh, little brother you can't be serious. That's... well to be frank that's just sad. That's what that is."

Grabbing the phone out of her hand, Devlin quickly turned it off and said with sparks of anger lightening his eyes,"Oh, like you can talk. Confessed to Rory Elsman yet, or are you still just slipping silly love letters under his door?"

"HOW do you know about those? I haven't even told Alice about those! Have you been spying on me? You horrid little brat! Wait until Dad comes home, I am so telling him about this."

"Oh, please if what you want to happen, happens I really doubt me knowing about you being a giant dork is going to make much of an impression on him."

Raising her finger and taking a deep breath in preparation of a long, loud rant on how she was going to kill him for invading her privacy, a sudden thought occurred to her and derailed her completely.

"Wait, what do you mean what I want. You're not still having problems with Dad dating are you?Because if you are even considering messing this up again once Dad gets it fixed, I promise you that I will keep everybody from pulling Alice off you when she gets her hands on you. And she will. You know she will."

Lifting his hands in the well known gesture of 'please back off' Devlin said,"Look, I get that Dad has a thing for this woman and that it is not going away, but that doesn't mean I have to feel comfortable about it right off the bat. And anyways who are you to talk? Before you meet her you hated her guts too. Remember?"

Narrowing her eyes at her brother's raised eyebrow (she really hated when he did that) Kilmeny crossed her arms over her chest and said,"Yes, I remember and as you so nicely stated I hated her before I met her. When I got to know her a little I realized that I would like to get to know her more and that I could see why Dad would want to as well."

Devlin held up his look of 'don't care' for a moment more and then with a sigh, he rubbed his hands against his face and holding them there said into his palms."Look I get it. She makes Dad happy and that's great it's just... I don't know what it is. Never mind. Just call Dad or whoever. I'm going back to my room and forgetting this whole stupid evening."

With that he turned and ran back up the stairs leaving Kilmeny behind him with wide eyes at a complete loss as to what to do.

So like a sensible person ( or not) she did as he said and called their father.

His lips were just about to form words. Words that would hopefully break Meyrin out of her funk and at the same time not make her horribly angry with him,(after living with two women he still was never sure what would comfort and what would set off) and then his phone rang.

Normally he would have just ignored all anything of serious importance would probably have ended with guards coming to Meyrin's door and dragging him away but since it was his daughter's ring tone and he was a paranoid father, he instead let out a internal sigh and sitting back on his hunches answered his phone.

"Dad, Devlin is being weird. What I am suppose to do? Should I call Aunt Lacus? I should call Aunt Lacus shouldn't I? Or maybe I should just leave him alone? He's probably just sulking like a big ! Why does he have to be so stupid?! I never once said that his feelings didn't matter and that was totally what he was implying with that little tantrum. It totally was no matter what he says to you and I was not trying to get him to just fall in line or something but I don't understand why it's my fault that he can't give something new a chance. You know what I mean don't you, Dad?"

Blinking slightly at the sudden onslaught of words,Athrun said slowly,"No, not really." Then just as he was about to ask her to explain herself a soft sound reached his ears and all words left him.

There on the couch where there used to be a good intimation of a still life with an occasional shudder being the only real proof of it actually being alive, was a living, breathing, laughing woman.

Meyrin sat up as he continued to silently stare and swinging her legs to the floor, wiped her eyes giving him a tender smile, and gently brushing the back of her hand against his cheek whispered,"I'm going to go and make us some tea. Why don't you find out what's going on with the twins?"

Athrun could do no more than nodded his head in agreement while staring up at her in stunned amazement.

Watching as she walked out of the room, he took a deep breath when she disappeared from view around the corner and letting it out in a gust of air broke into his daughter's babbling and said,"You're wonderful, have I told you that recently?"

"Huh, yeah okay Daddy, but what am I suppose to do about Devlin?"

"All right, I want you to take a deep breath, hold it for ten seconds and then after letting it out I want you to tell me what's going on with your brother. Yes,again but slower this time okay?"

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. ^_^ I'm sorry about how long it took to get this up but I was trying to write it a certain way for a long time and it just wouldn't flow so I gave up on that and went another way.(That and other things.) Which I really do hope you enjoyed.

Thank you again for reading and for all the kind reviews, messages and support.

JLGuyer John 3:16


	24. Chapter 24

Standard disclaimer: the author does not own Gundam Seed(Destiny) or any of its characters. Gundam Seed(Destiny) is the property of Bandai and Sunrise plus other people who I don't know the names of. And anything else that is recognizable I don't own either.

Gently closing the door behind her, Meyrin rubbed fiercely at the tear stains on her cheeks before taking a deep breath and walking down the hall away from Athrun and into the kitchen.

Grabbing the tea kettle she went mindlessly through the familiar actions of filling it up and setting it on the stove to boil.

She was unsure as to whether or not Athrun would be staying for longer than it took him and say good night(and maybe good-bye?) but either way she knew that she needed some tea to help her calm down.

It had been years since she had let her mother get under her skin like that. Before the war even and she was unsure as to why she had let her guard slip enough that the woman's cold words had penetrated through her defenses but they had which had resulted in Athrun seeing her shut down like a teenager in the depths of despair(as Luna used to like to call it.). She could only hope he wasn't too disgusted by her weakness. She really would like to continue the conversation they were having before her mother appear.

Remembering the kiss Athrun had given her on her doorstep a light blush colored Meyrin's cheeks as she silently admitted to herself that she wouldn't mind a chance to continue that as well.

But letting out a soft sigh she resigned herself to the prospect that she might have blown yet another shot with the man she loved... Oh land, did she really just think that?! Was she really ready to admit that, even to herself? Yes, she had considered the idea that she loved him but it was more a vague shapeless cloud in her head always hovering but never quite forming into something solid. And yet when she really sat down and looked at her feelings for the blue haired man she could not deny that it was love and that it had been for perhaps longer than she really had the right to be loving him.

Letting out another sigh, this one far louder and just this side of a groan, Meyrin let her head fall into her palm and did her best to shove all the thoughts rumbling around in her head off to the side so that she wouldn't have to deal with them at..Ugh 3:45 in the morning.

So absorbed in doing this she paid no attention to the sound of the kitchen door opening, thus when the plastic sack full of junk food was placed in front of her and a gentle hand cupped her shoulder, she jumped just about a foot in the air.

Spinning around in her chair she came face to face with her startled sister.

"Lunamaria! What are you doing here?" Meyrin gasped out a hand grasping her chest dramatically.

Taking a step back and shaking her head lightly, Luna moved around her sister to sit in the chair beside her and reaching into the bags of food that she had placed on the table grabbed a package of cookies. Opening it with one firm yank, she held the bag out to her sister still without saying a word and waiting until Meyrin had taken one, took one for herself and snapping half of it off with her teeth chewed it slightly before speaking with her mouth still partially full.

"Hi. How you doing now that the mother ship has left?"

Glaring at her sister for this little quip, Meyrin shoved the entire cookie into her mouth and reached for another before swallowing hard and saying truthfully."Horrid. How did you know Mom was here?"

Finishing off her cookie, Luna rose from the table and after flipping open a couple cabinets grabbed a mug and a packet of instant coffee. Pouring some water into her cup she ignored her sister's muttered"You could have just asked me where those were." and made herself a cup of joe before retaking her seat at the table.

Taking one long sip, Luna kept her eyes on her now restless sister taking in the dark shadows under her eyes and the redness of said eyes. She also noted that the watch that used to fit her just right now spun around her wrist with ease. Frowning down at her cup for a split second, Luna then met her sister's irritated gaze with a smile and said,"Athrun, called me. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to snap you out of the funk you had fallen into. I see he was wrong about that. Good to know."

Now it was Meyrin's turn to stare down into her drink as if it held all the answers of the universe. Keeping her eyes on her rapidly cooling tea a wry smirk twisted her lips as she replied,"Actually it was his daughter that snapped me out of my 'funk', she seems to have had some kind of argument with Devlin and she needed her father's help to resolve it I suppose. At the moment I honestly can't remember what she said but it made me laugh which snapped me out of myself and made me realize how stupidly I was acting. Which is when I left him to his phone call and came in here for some tea. Come to think of it he might have left by now. As you can tell I haven't really been paying attention to my surroundings."

Taking in the listless way Meyrin was playing with her mugs handle and obvious self disgust that she felt Luna could feel her anger towards her mother raising once again but before she address that she couldn't help but feel like she should defend Athrun against such an unkind remark. But just as she was about to, Meyrin spoke again.

"Wait, I shouldn't have said that about Athrun. I know he wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye. I guess I'm just being horrid since I realized that I have blown it with him once again. After all what kind of man would want a woman that falls apart over and argument with her mother. Oh, Luna why do I keep letting her get to me?" With these words Meyrin shoved her now empty cup forwards and folding her arms on the table rested her head on top of them.

Removing her left hand from her own mug, Luna stroked her sister's untidy hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Then when Meyrin did not respond to her touch, she got up from her seat and crouching next to Meyrin she wrapped her arm around her shoulder and laying her cheek in her hair murmured."Because Mother has burned into your mind since birth that she is bigger and more important than anything else in the universe. Honestly the only reason I have learned to handle her is because Shinn would mutter horribly sarcastic comments into my ear whenever she spoke to us. Having someone beside you that doesn't fear her in the least helps you see how small she really is. "

Letting out a watery laugh, Meyrin whispered."But I don't have anyone to make her small."

Placing a kiss in her hair, Luna was about to reply when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. There standing in the doorway his eyes focused solely on Meyrin was Athrun. His eyes were a dark forest green a combination of sadness and anger blazing within them as he gazed at her.

Stepping forward he gave Luna one small sad smile and then sitting down in the chair she had abandoned reached across the table to cover Meyrin's hands with his own.

Leaning in close to her he whispered,"You do now."

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.^_^

JLGuyer Romans 8:28


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